Forever Shine, For Eternal Mine
by RiddlerShade
Summary: She found him when it was all dark. Her smile was what brought colors to his life. Even after she left, she still looked out for him. Now she was back, after seven years. But... her smile has lost all its shine. And he wants to be the one to bring it back.. Late Submission for NaLu Week Bonus Prompt: Shine (Multi-Chapter)
1. Chapter 1: I'll always come back to you…

**Hey guys.**

 **This is a late submission for the Bonus Prompt: Shine**

 **Been working on this for over a week. Originally a one-shot, but now a multI-chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own Fairy Tail. It Belongs to Hiro Mashima sensei.**

 **I do not own cover image also.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER-1**

 ** _I'll always come back to you…_**

* * *

 _Black and white everywhere._

 _A seven-year old boy clad in long-sleeved maroon shirt and khaki shorts sat on the stone bank overlooking a canal, swinging his legs back and forth as he stared at his bland reflection in the waters that otherwise reflected the sky._

 _It had been weeks since his parents abandoned him._

 _One minute he was dreaming of him on a nice picnic with his smiling parents, on a grassy plain, him with his mouth stuffed with heavenly grub, and the next thing he knew, he was all alone in his home with people roaming here and there, some with a stack of paper in their hands, while some went through books and papers that lay haywire in the house, not even bothering to spare a glance at the awakened boy who rubbed at his eyes as he tried to figure out who these people in white shirts and black or brown pants were._

 _And why the hell were those people in orange suits trying to move the couches and stuff out of the house?_

 _All he remembered was a red-haired man squatting down in front of him, asking where his parents where, only for him to run off wordlessly to a room down the hall and kick it open like he usually does. He remembered himself squeezing his eyes shut as he clamped his hands over his ears, waiting for the shouts his mother would throw at him for such obnoxious behavior, only to find the bedroom empty._

 _He remembered hearing the heavy footsteps of the same man behind him, who after a moment or two of what the boy guessed was assessing, patted his head._

 _What happened after that was all vague and only muffled words reached his ears as he remembered the blurry figure of the same man, squatting down in front of him as his mouth moved._

 _He remembered screaming out for his parents as he ran all around their small and shabby house but to find no trace of them being there._

 _Now here he was, after sneakily clambering over the wall, just so he could be alone from all the bullying and insults of the day care section._

 _Just because he had pink hair, doesn't give the reason for his parents to abandon him…right?_

 _His eyes narrowed as he buried his trembling lips into the scaly white scarf wrapped around his neck._

 _The scarf has been given to him as a gift… or more like to comfort him, given to him by the same red-haired man._

 _He didn't know his name... he didn't even talk to him…_

 _Yet he didn't know why but it still gave him comfort._

 _His stomach growled out loud. His hands snapped towards it as he flinched in pain, a small whimper escaping him._

 _Man, why did he have to run away during lunch break…?_

 _He gulped, onyx eyes moistening a little as he squeezed them shut._

 _What's done is done. Hope he gets to eat a little more for dinner… That is, if those kids don't pour water or put roaches in his food.._

 _This has been going on for a couple of weeks, ever since the day he joined the child care center._

 _He never told the warden though. Cause the first time he told them, all hell broke loose._

 _The culprits had only to show their puppy eyes and crocodile tears and it had the old lady at their feet cooing at them while shooting a distrustful look at the pink-haired brat, telling him to learn more from them. And after the warden had walked away, they would wet his bed with water or worse.. pee on it… they even tried to make a grab for his scarf but, he would manage to run away._

 _Loneliness was his only friend…it had been, ever since the day he was born.._

 _His parents never cared to smile at him.. how they raised him from a baby.. even he doesn't know.._

 _The scar on his neck was from his parents.. How... he doesn't remember.._

 _Their faces were getting blurred as each day passed by…_

 _"_ _Ooo.. lookie, lookie..what do we have here?"_

 _Natsu needn't look back to see who the voice belonged to. They were the seniors in his child care center who always used him as their…. Means of entertainment._

 _Natsu kept his eyes squeezed shut, yelling in his mind for them to go away._

 _"_ _Awww…is the pinky all alone… where did your Papa and Momma go? I bet they left you because they couldn't stand your pink hair and you being a boy at the same time! I mean, come on! What person has their hair color pink and be a boy!"_

 _Laughter rung throughout._

 _"_ _Hey Derek. How are you so sure he is a boy?"_

 _"_ _You know Jack, now that you ask, I am wondering about that too. I guess it's because Miss Lily told that he is one and with his hair length all like that, I never thought of it.."_

 _The other one snickered, "Why don't we check down there, eh?"_

 _"_ _That's a good idea!"_

 _They slowly moved towards the boy who had jumped up in time and began to back away. He would have fought back with a snarky remark or punched them in the face, but he really wanted tonight's dinner._

 _"_ _Come on, Pinky… whip it out!"_

 _"_ _Yeah, show us your thing! We all are curious here-"_

 _Suddenly a large yet shimmery brown and blue cloth flew over from behind the two boys, covering their faces as the shocked boys fell back with a yelp when the cloth was yanked back._

 _The salmon haired boy watched with wide eyes are he watched a girl around his age, wrap the muddy cloth and making a swift knot behind their heads as muffled shouts elicited from within the cloth._

 _Before he knew it, something warm yet soft grabbed his hand. He snapped his head towards his hand with wide eyes to find a small pale yet muddy hand holding it._

 _He jerked his head upwards to look at the owner-_

 _"_ _Woah!"_

 _His head jerked back and in the next moment he found himself running as if his life depended on it._

 _Wind whipped through his hair as his heart began to beat rapidly against his chest, the blood it pumped out, driving out the cold numbness in his veins._

 _His breathing was now erratic and adrenaline sparked up his entire body into life._

 _Now only did the colors that blurred past him made sense to his wide eyes._

 _The green trees that passed by in a blur, the smell that the gushing wind that lased against his face carried along with it, tingled his nose, the grass and the occasional twigs that crunched under his feet vibrated his eardrums._

 _He turned to look forwards at the blonde hair that billowed in the wind._

 _The golden head turned around with a wide mischievous grin spread across the face, "Run, before they catch us! Those birdbrains will never know what hit them!"_

 _The giggle that vibrated his eardrums was foreign to him.. yet it caused something warm to stir up in his heart._

 _He could hear his own heartbeats and heavy breaths._

 _Heat began to creep up his cheeks; his chest began to thrum loudly as his throat pained with something that bubbled up, demanding to be released._

 _And so he did._

 _The sound that elicited from him was foreign yet familiar…_

 _The loud laughter that vibrated across his chest filled him with warmth yet happiness._

 _Girl stopped running. So did he._

 _They were now behind a huge tree trunk, under the cool shade of its vast foliage._

 _The girl had bent down, her small hands on her knees as she heavily panted for air._

 _A thump sounded and she twisted around._

 _Her eyes widened at the sight she saw._

 _The ringing in her ears had died down, making for the sound that she had failed to hear until now._

 _The boy was lying back flat on the grassy ground, laughing so hard that tears cascaded down his cheeks from his tightly shut eyes._

 _A smile crept onto her lips as she watched him. It was as if, he hadn't laughed for years and was now basking in the feeling._

 _She kneeled down in front of the still chortling boy as she poked his wet cheek._

 _"_ _H-Hey.."_

 _The girl stared at her reflection in the glassy onyx eyes that snapped open, as the boy stared back at her, his titters mixed with pants._

 _"_ _Are you alright?", the girl smiled softly._

 _Boy, was his grin contagious._

 _"_ _Mhmm!", the boy beamed with a swift nod._

 _Her smile turned wide, "My name is Lucy! What's yours?"_

 _Laughter died down as the boy stared at her in awe before breaking away from her mesmerizing gaze, looking off to the side as he mumbled, "Natsu.."_

 _A moment of silence passed and the boy wondered how long before the girl would start making fun of his hair._

 _He jumped slightly when a soft fabric brushed against his cheeks, causing him to snap his head back, only for a blush to crawl up his cheeks, "W-What.. W-What are you doing?!"_

 _Her frock was lifted up slightly, her now exposed small creamy thighs right in front of his wide eyes as the edge of the cloth was gripped tightly in her hand as she dabbed at his wet cheeks, "Wiping your cheeks, silly! What else?", the girl giggled as if it were natural._

 _Natsu made no move to stop her as his eyes lay fixated on her face while reveling in her gentle touches._

 _No one has ever touched him so gently before. Hell, no one even came close to him. He has never experienced such gentle or loving gestures even from his parents. All he ever remembered of them was their scowling faces whenever they saw him._

 _But the kids back at the center never came close to him with reasons different from that of his parents._

 _Maybe the girl never realized it, so he decided to point it out for her before he had to bear the hurt of her screaming and running away from him._

 _He sighed as he closed his eyes in dejection, "You do know that I have pink hair, right?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, so?", the girl tilted her head in confusion._

 _The boy looked at her skeptically, "Well, why are you not laughing or making fun of me? Like those boys did?"_

 _The girl frowned, "Just because you have pink hair doesn't mean that you are to be laughed at. Having a unique hair color makes you different. Besides..", she smiled at him, "I love pink. It makes me feel all.. warm and bubbly inside!"_

 _His eyes widened as he stared up at the girl with slackened jaws._

 _Lucy tilted her head with a frown, "What? Did I say something wrong?"_

 _The boy looked away with a slight blush coating his cheeks, flustered at how cute she looked, "N-No.."_

 _A rustle of the grass caused him look up to see the girl nowhere in sight. He leaned up, propping on his elbows, peering over to see Lucy with her back to him, peeking around the trunk, "As long as those nitwits don't come anywhere around here, we'll be safe..", she turned back to smile reassuringly at him._

 _The boy stared at her, with the light blush still coating his cheeks, "W-Where did you get that cloth from?"_

 _She titled her head, "What cloth..?"_

 _"_ _That.. muddy one.."_

 _"_ _Oh! That..", a similar blush coated her cheeks as she looked away with a sheepish laugh, "W-Well, that was my blanky.. I carry it around with me when I am out exploring all alone.. I feel safe with it.. But I.. kinda fell into a puddle and it got all muddy..", her blush deepened a little._

 _Natsu froze, his heart thumping a little painfully, not wanting to hear the answer to his next question, "Why did you.. throw it away then..?",, he sat up, resting his hands on his shoes to keep him up as he stared at her._

 _Lucy looked at him in slight annoyance at what happened earlier, "Because I had to stop them before they did nasty things to you. I heard them talking to you.. and in my honest opinion.. I don't see what the fuss is about a boy having pink hair? I think it suits you well!"_

 _His eyes widened, as his blush intensified at the comment. He looked away to hide his red face._

 _Why? Why was she being so nice to him?_

 _A soft thump to his side found him looking at the girl sitting beside him, staring right back at him._

 _"_ _Ne Natsu… Were you lonely just for today or…"_

 _The boy remained silent as he looked away again._

 _Her breath hitched at the silent answer before relaxing her shoulders. Her eyes softened at the painful revelation. This boy… was not only bullied.. but also had no one to stand up for him.._

 _"_ _Ne Natsu…", she leaned forward to peer at his face, a small smile decorating her features, "Can I be your friend Natsu?"_

 _He still looked away as he responded in a low voice, "Why would you want that?"_

 _"_ _Should there be any reason for wanting to be your friend?", the boy looked back at the girl who had her arms crossed across her chest with a brow raised at him._

 _"_ _N-No…", he looked away again, "It's just that…", he sighed, "…N-Nothing.."_

 _"_ _What?", she frowned._

 _"…"_

 _"_ _What? Tell meee!", the girl's whines made him look back at her with a blush again._

 _He swore the girl's cuteness would make him lose a lot of blood._

 _He looked away again, "It's just that, no one would talk to me, much less come within ten feet of me.. because of my hair, unless they are bored and wanna have some fun.. using me."_

 _"_ _Eh? Why wouldn't anyone come near you?"_

 _"_ _They think that I am neither boy nor…girl.. Atleast that's what those boys said."_

 _"_ _Wha- that's fudgesickle!"_

 _The boy snapped his head towards her at the word she used, only to find her red cheeks puffed out in anger that had him blushing like crazy at the cute puffed out scowling face._

 _He couldn't help but laugh at her cute red pouty face and that word…oh god.. don't get him started on that.. this girl was not just cute.. but out of the world weird cute!_

 _Before he knew it, he was laughing out loud again._

 _"_ _Wha-Why are you l-laughing?", the girl looked at the boy in embarrassment._

 _"_ _Tha-That word.. You- You are weird!"_

 _"_ _Wha- I'm not!", the girl huffed as she crossed her arms across her chest, her red face puffing out more than before as she looked away._

 _The boy only hunched over, laughing hard as his hands clutched at his tummy in pain._

 _He liked this… Laughter. Come to think of it. When was the last time he did so..?_

 _Something cold and mucky splatted onto his face, some even getting into his wide open mouth cutting off his laughter._

 _"_ _Wha-"_

 _His small hands immediately came up to hastily wipe at his now lolling out tongue, as gagging sounds elicited from him._

 _He snapped his head sideways to glare at the source to see the Lucy smirking in victory as she bounced another ball of mud in her hands._

 _"_ _W-Wha-"_

 _Splat!_

 _"_ _Hey! What do you think you're doing, you weirdo!", a brown faced Natsu flailed his hands wildly in the air._

 _"_ _What does it like I am doing, doofus?"_

 _The boy growled, "Oh that's it!", he lunged forward dipping his hands in the mud puddle near the girl._

 _Pretty soon, they were both covered from head to toe in mud, as their childish growls and yells turned into peals of laughter._

 _"_ _Lucyyy! Lu- Oh there you ar- Oh my god! Why are you covered in mud?! And who is this?"_

 _The mud covered girl snapped her head towards the voice, resulting in some mud to splat in the boy's already dripping brown face._

 _"_ _Mama!", a white crescent toothy smile appeared on her otherwise brown face._

 _The older version of the girl stood there in a sundress as she took in the state her six-year old daughter was in._

 _But her composure broke, as the woman's hands shot towards her mouth to cover it, an unlady-like snort escaping her mixed with suppressed giggles._

 _"_ _O-Oh my! You-You look so cuutee!"_

 _The woman began to giggle uncontrollably._

 _Pretty soon, the girl also started to giggle along with her mother._

 _The mud covered boy just stared blankly at the two chortling girls._

 _Regaining her composure, the blonde woman straightened up, "Who is this? Is he your new friend?", the woman smiled down at him._

 _The girl beamed as she nodded enthusiastically, "Mhmm! His name is Natsu!"_

 _"_ _Well hello Natsu..", the woman smiled lovingly at the boy as she leaned down a little, "Thank you for putting up with my daughter's antics.."_

 _"_ _Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!", the girl pouted as she flailed her tiny muddy arms._

 _The boy just stared up at the woman in awe with slightly parted lips, before ducking his head down as he gulped, nodding nervously with a small hum._

 _"_ _Well, why don't we go back to the others and get you cleaned up. They are getting impatient and we mustn't keep them waiting~", the blonde mother turned around as she gestured for her daughter to follow._

 _The girl hesitated as she looked at her mother. She looked back at Natsu who was staring dejectedly at her before looking away. Her brown eyes moistened slightly as she watched him before looking back up at her mother with pleading eyes._

 _"_ _Can Natsu come too, Mama?"_

 _The boy snapped his head towards her with wide eyes, 'Why..?'_

 _"_ _Wasn't that clear to you? - But only if Natsu's parents allow it.. I mean, they wouldn't like their son coming home covered from head to toe in mud and late..", the woman raised a brow at his form._

 _Brown bangs covered his eyes as he lowered his head._

 _A concerned look marred the woman's face, "Natsu.. Is something wrong?"_

 _He only lowered his head, "I don't know where Papa and Mama are.."_

 _Even though it was a low mumble, the woman heard it clearly. She looked at him concern, "Eh? We will help you find them.."_

 _The boy shook his head vigorously, his wet muddy bangs flailing as he did so, "You won't find them.. Not here anyway..", his small trembling hands clenched into fists at his sides._

 _"_ _Why is that?"_

 _"_ _B-Because.. B-Because..", his voice got stuck in his throat as his small fist clenched tighter. He turned around so as to hide his face, as he squeezed his eyes shut, his body beginning to tremble._

 _"_ _Natsu…"_

 _Lucy's concerned voice was enough to break the feeble barrier that he formed then, as sobs started to rack his body, while tears leaked out of his eyes, "T-They.. T-They left me! Th-They left me all alone! They don't want me anymore! They left me! It's almost a month now! No one wants to be with me!"_

 _After he tells them his story, they too will leave him all alone. Like those kids back there. They will also think that his parents left him because there was something wrong with him. Why else would his parents not want him?_

 _The woman watched him silently, as he spoke in a gentle tone, "Then who is taking care of you..?"_

 _"_ _I-I live in Sunflower care center.."_

 _This is it.. When he turns around, he can watch them retreating from him, as if to keep away from him, like the plague._

 _He clenched his teeth. He hated it. He hated it all. Just when he thought his life gained a little color…_

 _His shoulders slumped in despair as he tried to accept the fact.._

 _Guess… he was meant to be alone.. after all-_

 _Small arms wrapped around him and his breath hitched._

 _A body pressed against his back as something small and heavy dropped against his shoulder. Teary onyx eyes snapped open._

 _Tilting his head a little sideways, brown blonde hair clouded his vision. A head fell on his shoulder, as the girl's body began to shake._

 _A low shaky voice whispered in his ear, "D-Don't say that.."_

 _"_ _Wha-Wha..t?"_

 _The girl yelled as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, "I said, don't say that! Don't say that no one wants to be with you!", she pulled away, yanking on his hand to turn him around._

 _Teary onyx eyes widened even more on seeing the girl glaring at him with a frown marring her tear and mud stained cheeks, "I want to be with you!"_

 _"_ _Lucy.."_

 _"_ _And that's final!", she tugged on his hand._

 _Fresh tears flowed down his cheeks as Natsu gazed wide-eyed at Lucy who stared at him with equally teary brown eyes, before her brows scrunched up together as she smiled at him in determination, "From now onwards, we will always be together!"_

 _The boy stared at her before swallowing the painful lump in his throat. He sniffled, before nodding swiftly with a wide teary smile on his face as hummed loudly._

 _"_ _Come on!", the girl pulled the smiling boy along with her, the determined look still on her face._

 _The blonde mother smiled softly at the children, before ambling after them._

 _They finally reached a hilly grassland, with a large tree overlooking the area, the tall grass billowing in the warm breeze that swept by._

 _They trekked up the hill, the girl's hand still gripping onto his._

 _When the bottom of the tree finally began to become visible, onyx eyes caught sight of the distinct colors of red, blue, dirty blonde, raven and blonde tufts of hair._

 _Only on reaching the top was he finally able to make out the owners of those colors._

 _"_ _Lucy-neechaan!"_

 _The owner of the dirty blonde hair dashed towards the blonde girl._

 _"_ _Wha- Oof!"_

 _The startled pink-haired boy stared at the struggling blonde who was now under a girl smaller than her, who was wailing and nuzzling her face with that of the blonde's mud covered face._

 _The blonde struggled to push her off, "M-Michelle! I'm dirty!"_

 _"_ _I don't care! Where were you?! I was worried!"_

 _"_ _S-Sorry!"_

 _While the poor blonde struggled with crying girl, a stern faced red-haired girl and a concerened blue-haired girl walked up to them, as the blue-head opened her mouth speak, "Where were you Lu-chan? Michelle-chan was crying when you didn't return back!"_

 _Lucy tilted her head up in the midst of the struggle, to look at the petite girl, giving off a sheepish smile, "S-Sorry Levy-chan.. Wha- Michelle stop crying!"_

 _The red-head crossed her arms across her chest, "You got us all worried, Lucy.", she looked up to the smiling woman silently watching their interaction, "Was she difficult to find Miss Heartfilia?", but the red-head snapped her head back towards the struggling blonde with a frown, "And why are you covered in mud?"_

 _The blonde only laughed nervously._

 _"_ _And who is this?", the red-head raised a brow at the pink-haired boy who jumped in his spot at the sudden attention from the intimidating girl._

 _The blonde mother chuckled, "My, My Erza-chan.. Too many questions...", she looked towards the duo on the ground, "And Michelle-chan, you might want to get off Lucy. You will get your dress dirty…"_

 _The red-head stepped up to the struggling girls, and pried the crying girl off the blonde._

 _Catching sight of something behind Lucy, Natsu watched the blue-haired girl sigh in disappointment before shooting a wary glance towards the dirty blonde who got up._

 _Levy let out a snort, "Don't look now Lu-chan, but-"_

 _"_ _Luuucy! Your knight in shining armor has-"_

 _"_ _Ugh! Back off Loke!", Lucy was quick to twist around and flick her muddy hands with a scowl marring her blushing face._

 _Something stirred up in Natsu on seeing her blushing face… like he wanted to trip the guy for making her blush.. Natsu frowned._

 _Blinded by the mud that splattered over his eyes, the orange haired boy who was running up from the other side of the hill, tripped over a pebble, causing him to fall face first into the ground._

 _Natsu couldn't help the wicked smile that stretched across his lips._

 _The mother chuckled before answering to the red-head's unanswered query, "I found Lucy downhill, behind a tree, having a mud fight with Natsu over here.."_

 _A snort sounded to his right and Natsu snapped his head to see the raven-haired boy who was now shirtless, smirking at the orange-haired boy, with his arms folded across his chest._

 _Something about that smirk, made the pink haired boy's blood boil in irritation._

 _Feeling eyes on him, the raven-head looked towards Natsu, "Tch.."_

 _Natsu narrowed his eyes as he growled, clenching his muddy fists at his sides._

 _"_ _Now, now Gray-kun, be nice to Natsu..", the woman wagged a scolding finger at the raven-haired boy._

 _A deadpanning Lucy popped up from behind the half-naked boy, "Gray, clothes.."_

 _"_ _Guah!", and just like that the raven haired boy set an almost clear image in Natsu's mind._

 _"_ _It's almost time for lunch. Why don't we set up the picnic blanket?", the blonde mother clapped her hands with a smile, before looking down at the pink-haired boy, "Natsu-kun? Would like to join us?"_

 _Natsu just looked down, too nervous to take up on the offer, "N-No. I already ate-"_

 _His stomach growled out loud and he felt his cheeks warm up as his hands shot towards his aching empty stomach._

 _The woman giggled, "Your tummy disagrees with you. Come on. We have plenty enough here!"_

 _"_ _Come on, Natsuuu!", the blonde rocked on the balls of her feet as she looked at Natsu with wide brown eyes._

 _Natsu's blush intensified as he nodded shyly, "O-Okay.." . Good thing his cheeks were covered in mud._

 _"_ _Yay!", the blonde threw up her hands._

 _The blonde woman raised a stern finger as she looked sternly at the blonde, "Ah, ah, aaah! Not so fast young lady. Do you think I will let you sit on the blanket with mud all over you?"_

 _The girl pouted as she looked down._

 _The woman chuckled, "Go and wash up by the lake", she jerked her thumb back over her shoulder._

 _Natsu looked behind her to see a huge sparkling lake at the bottom of the other side of the hill. "I got a spare dress in the bag. Hmm, but what will we do about Natsu-kun..", the mother frowned in thought before suddenly snapping her fingers, "Oh! Laxus-kun!"_

 _The woman looked over to the tree where a spiky haired blonde leaned against the trunk with large headphones over his ears, "Laxus-kun!"_

 _The said boy looked up to see the woman waving him over, "Why are standing there alone? It's almost time for lunch! Could you lend Natsu-kun your spare clothes? Oh, and where is Gajeel-ku-Oh! There you are!"_

 _Natsu's eyes widened as another raven-haired boy stepped out from behind the tree, his piercing red-eyes widening on seeing the mud covered boy._

 _Instantly, their hands shot out towards each other as they yelled out simultaneously, "You!"_

 _The blonde woman smiled knowingly. Now these two boys won't feel that alone when they go back to the center._

 _"_ _Eh? You two know each other?", the blonde's wide eyes went back and forth between the two glaring boys._

 _"_ _Know?! Not just know! He put metallic bolts in my juice!"_

 _"_ _You stole my drink! And what idiot puts hot sauce in juice!"_

 _"_ _Hey! I like my drinks hot and spicy! You wanna talk about mixing? What fool puts bolts and nails in their drink? I nearly died choking on it! And by the way, I didn't steal your stupid drink, those boys who mixed up the drinks!"_

 _"_ _I like the metallic taste! Besides are ya that blind to not see the bolts in it!"_

 _"_ _SHUT UP!"_

 _"_ _A-Aye!", the two boys immediately jumped away, cowering slightly as the red-head glared at them._

 _"_ _You two will behave properly. Mrs. Heartfilia has gone through a lot of trouble just to set up a picnic and I will not tolerate anyone who dares ruin my chance to have a successful picnic and have her delicious strawberry cake! Understood!", Erza glared down at the shivering boys._

 _"_ _A-Aye!"_

 _"_ _Good.", the red-head nodded as she walked away to set up the picnic blanket._

 _"_ _My, my.. Erza-chan really does seem determined to make this picnic last long.", the woman chuckled._

 _Gajeel rubbed the back of his head, "Tch..Scary red headed demon.."_

 _A snort sounded attracting the pink-haired's attention. Looking towards the source, onyx widened slightly at the smile that colored the muddy blonde's face as she looked at the shivering duo._

 _Blush coated his cheeks, his heart thrumming a little loudly in his chest._

 _He loved that smile. And he wants to see more of it._

 _Turning back, Natsu snickered at Gajeel, "First time I've seen you ever being scared of someone."_

 _The pink-haired boy only remembered the raven-haired boy sitting at a table all alone. He always had an intimidating aura radiating about him. All the children at the orphanage were too scared to go near him._

 _That scuffle about their drinks was the only time Natsu remembered ever talking or more like yelling at someone. After that, it was back to his old life of being insulted and tormented by other children._

 _"_ _Says the one with mud all over him..", Gajeel crossed his arms, smirking at Natsu, "Come to think of it.. I like ya more with pink hair.."_

 _Natsu's eyes narrowed in irritation, as he clenched his fists and growled at the boy, "You asked for it!"_

 _Natsu lunged at Gajeel, both falling to the ground, about to throw punches at each other. But their fists ended up being lodged in each other's mouths._

 _A giggle sounded and Natsu's eyes darted to the side at the moment before widening._

 _A wide smile decorated the Lucy's face as she chortled hard along with the petite blue-haired one._

 _A small smile tugged at his lips, which turned into an open mouthed grin with Gajeel's fist still between his teeth, his onyx eyes closing at the intensity of his own smile._

 _"_ _Tch.. What a bunch of sissies.."_

 _The boys froze, directing their now narrowed eyes towards a now fully clothed Gray who was staring at them with an annoyed look before looking away._

 _A now partially mud covered Gajeel spat out Natsu's hand, both of them still in a pile of tangled limbs, before speaking, "Did ya say somethin'?"_

 _Gray merely scoffed as he looked back at them, "I said, you all look like a bunch of pansies, rolling around, covered in mud.. Geez.."_

 _Red eyes and onyx eyes trailed away from the raven-haired boy and locked gazes with each other before narrowing as wicked toothy grins stretched across the boys' lips after a moment of silent communication._

 _Narrowed eyes darted back to look at Gray whose expression turned to nervousness as he gulped hard and took a step back._

 _Two hands shot forward and grabbed his arms. Gray let out a yelp as he got yanked forward by Natsu and Gajeel as they rubbed their muddy faces and bodies all over the groaning boy._

 _The increasing peals of laughter from the blonde only flared up Natsu's determination to torment the poor boy, more and more._

 _His chest swelled with happiness and pride that he was the reason behind her laughs._

 _Natsu didn't know why, but somehow his heart had already taken up on itself to always make her laugh and smile... From there on…and always…_

 _Onyx eyes stayed trained on the giggling blonde…_

 _No matter how muddy her face was that day, that smile of hers was what brought colors to his black and white life, outshining all the negative feelings he had of him._

.

.

.

.

A sigh sounded from under the thick tuft of wild salmon locks splayed upon the light brown wooden desk.

The locks ruffled as the head tilted to side, revealing a tanned face with scrunched up eyelids and slightly parted lips.

A lone tear escaped from the corner of the quivering eyelids as the half-asleep eighteen year old teen sniffled a little.

"Lucy…"

As soon as the whisper escaped him, eyelids fluttered open.

The owner blinked them rapidly, sniffling so as to clear his slightly running nose, before turning his face back to bury it into his arms, wiping his face on them as he did so.

He sighed heavily as darkness overshadowed his closed eyelids.

It's been seven years…

He didn't know what triggered it now.

Not that he ever had dreams of….

But those were not _as clear_ as this.

Ever since that day, they've been practically joined at the hip.

In the beginning, he would always sneak out during the lunch break, which included nap time as well which was till late evening. In the weeks that followed, Gajeel joined him since their sneak out times clashed.

They would always meet at their favorite place, the grassy hilltop, where they all played and scuffled while Lucy's mother, Layla as he came to learn, or one of her maids or butlers would watch over them.

He had also come to learn that Lucy was also from a rich family and that her father doesn't know that she sneaks out of her mansion to hang out with them, since he never approved of her friends. She treasured her moments with them too much to let them go.

Only Layla and some of their trusted maids and butlers knew of her escapades.

While the others played and loitered around the hill enjoying each other's company, Lucy and Natsu would sneak away and wander around on one of their many 'adventures' as they would like to call it.

And Layla or the staff would always narrow their eyes at them when they returned back with twigs and leaves in their hair or mud covering them.

And of course, the others started to tag along with them, disrupting the peace of nature, and one only need to scan for a flock of birds flying away from among the dense foliage or listen for the screams and yells of the group to find where they are.

But Natsu would always choose to go on adventures with his blonde partner-in-crime over the whole group any day.

They even made a makeshift hut a little far away from their meeting spot, which was a poor construction of an already bend tree trunk which they covered with a bunch of leaves and branches. Nevertheless, it felt like home.

He also got close with the others who accepted him for him. Although, he fought and brawled with Gray and Gajeel, with Laxus - who Natsu learned to his shock, was Lucy's overprotective cousin - occasionally joining in to get his revenge on their pranks on him, throwing insults at each other, they always stood together whenever situation called for it.

He and Gajeel started to sit together at lunch- always with the reason to taunt each other or accuse each other for small faults which, they both never admitted was made up- and hence the bullying on Natsu stopped.

A few months after he was inducted into the group, the red-haired man who came to his old house and gave him the scarf, whom Natsu learned was Igneel, adopted him, while his brother Metalicana adopted Gajeel.

Both moved into the neighborhood and hence their sneak-outs stopped.

The group became more and more close, with the amount of time they meet up with each other, which also involved occasionally hanging out at each other's houses.

Natsu and Lucy grew more and more close when Happy entered their life.

They found the blue furball napping in their hut, when they were taking a break from one of their many adventures.

At first, they didn't know what to do with the kitten, thinking that neither of their families would allow him into their houses. And so they took it upon themselves to take care of the kitten, by setting up a makeshift bed with the blankets and pillows they sneaked out of their homes.

He still remembered that day when they found Happy...

.

.

 _Natsu and Lucy sat in their hut as they stared at the mewling kitten that nuzzled its head against the blonde's small open palm._

 _The nine-year old blonde giggled as its fur tickled her, while the boy stared blankly at it._

 _"_ _It's so small…"_

 _The giggles died down as Lucy looked up at Natsu whose eyes were trained on the kitten._

 _"_ _That's because he is a small child, younger than us. I'd say less than six months, give or take."_

 _"_ _Eh? That small!", the boy snapped his head towards the blonde with wide eyes and open mouth._

 _"_ _Yeah!", Lucy nodded as if it was nothing._

 _"_ _Where are its parents?"_

 _The girl gazed down at the kitten with a sad smile, as she spoke in a low voice, "Don't know.. Maybe its Mama abandoned it or he must have wandered off from his parents and got lost."_

 _The ten-year old boy looked back down at the kitten enjoying the blonde's pat to his head._

 _After minutes of silence, the boy spoke up, "Ne, Lushii…"_

 _The girl hummed as she looked up at the boy who was watching the kitten._

 _"_ _What if.. his parents never finds him..? Or never come back for him.. like.. like mine..?", his tone was low and melancholic._

 _"_ _Then we will be his Mama and Papa!"_

 _The boy snapped his head up in surprise, "W-What?"_

 _"_ _We will take care of him till his parents come for him!"_

 _The boy stared wide-eyed at the girl grinning at him in determination._

 _That smile…_

 _Determination crossed his features as he fist-pumped into the air, "Yosh! I'm all fired up! We will be his- Wha- W-What are you- Whahahaha!Stahp! Nohohhahaha!"_

 _Peals of laughter rung throughout the hut as the girl watched the kitten who had sauntered over to the boy and jumped into his lap, swishing its tail which brushed his arm pits, thus eliciting loud chortles from the boy._

 _A soft smile tugged at her lips as she watched the scene._

 _"_ _Happy!"_

 _Laughter stopped as the boy looked at the blonde in confusion, "What?"_

 _"_ _Let's name him Happy!", Lucy beamed up at him._

 _His cheeks warmed up instantly. Ugh.. that smile…_

 _He looked away with a frown, to hide his blush, "Wha-What kind of name i-is that y-you weirdo?!"_

 _The girl's mouth fell open with a gasp before scowling at him, "Wha- Who you calling a weirdo you dork?!"_

 _"_ _You, of course!", the boy grinned back at her in a teasing manner._

 _The girl huffed, puffing out her now red cheeks, as she stuck out her tongue at him before crossing her arms and looking away._

 _Natsu's eyes widened. The blush on his cheeks darkened._

 _He immediately looked away again as his hand rubbed at the back of his head._

 _"_ _Why the name..?"_

 _The blonde looked back at Natsu who was looking down at the kitten which was now curled up in his lap._

 _"_ _What?"_

 _The boy looked up at her, "Why did you name him Happy?"_

 _The blonde stared at the boy with a blank face, before a smirk tugged at her lips, "It's a secret!"_

 _His breath hitched in his throat as he stared at her._

 _Her smirk turned into a wide smile as she winked at him, before bolting out of the hut, leaving a red-faced boy inside, with smoke coming out of his ears._

 _He swore that this girl would be end of him._

 _He suddenly snapped out of his trance before he getting up with the kitten in his arms to exit their hut, "O-Oi, Luigi, wait up!"_

 _"_ _For the last time, my name is_ _ **Lucy**_ _, you dimwit!"_

 _A toothy grin stretched across his face as he followed the sound of the high-pitched growl._

.

.

.

They played house, much to Natsu's annoyance, where Happy would be their new born baby with Lucy as the mother and him was the father, occasionally interchanging their roles when the blonde had to teach Natsu on how to be a proper father, only for him to act like a grumpy wife.

But as days passed by, he grew more and more attached to the game to the point where he saw both of them as real family.

He _never_ got tired of watching Lucy taking care of their son, with that smile on her face that shone more than anything, warming his heart.

He remembered always watching the sunset together in front of their hut, with Happy curled up in between them or in one of their laps, while one of his arms were wrapped around Lucy who leaned against him. He'd always sneak glances at her face just to see that blissful smile.

It was that moment he always treasured the most.

Such were their escapades…

But it was short lived a few weeks after, when Natsu was sneaking out food for the kitten as usual, Igneel caught him red-handed.

At first Natsu lied to him stating that he wanted to snack on them while taking a break after playing.

But when he started to sneak out raw fish, that's when Igneel got suspicious and Natsu knew he couldn't pull out of this one. And so, he spilled out the truth.

He was sure the man would punish him or even worse…disown him..

He still remembered that dreaded feeling which momentarily chilled his spine, but a small pat to the head and a chuckle made him snap his head up and stare wide eyed at his father, who only told him to bring the kitten home so that it can be properly taken care of.

And of course, Lucy would always come to his house to feed and take care of the kitten together, still playing house and such.

When dusk approached and the girl had to go back home, he would always anticipate for morning to arrive, just so that he could be with her again.

But never did he anticipate for the day when she would never come again..

One day, as usual, the eleven-year old waited for Lucy to come home so that they could feed Happy together before heading outside to meet up with the others.

But she never came.

He ran to the hill after waiting patiently till noon, to see whether she was there only to feel downtrodden.

He never knew where her house was since they never hung out there.

Of course, he wouldn't let one day without Lucy bring him down that easily.

She would always come back to him. They promised, right? Moreover, she would never abandon their son, right? They were one happy family.

And so he waited the next day…

And the day after the next…

And the day after…

Soon one week passed, when Igneel broke the news that Lucy moved away from Magnolia due to her father's business.

To say that he was crushed would have been an understatement. His whole body went weak as he fell onto his knees.

Never had he felt so much pain in his heart. He never even felt this much pain when his parents left him.

But Lucy…

She promised that she would never leave him.

She was his partner-in-crime.

His best friend.

His family…

Then why…?

He refused to believe it.

Igneel must be joking, right..?

He ran out, paying a deaf ear to his father's yells, running with all his might to their home..

Only when he came to an empty hut, did the tears finally fall.

Sometimes truth can be such a hard slap in the face. A painful hard slap.

His whole body shook as his knees buckled under him and he fell on his knees, letting it all out, in the form of loud cries… yelling to the sky above.

It was when a meow sounded did he snap out of his hysteria and look down.

The small feline was curled up in his folded arms, looking up at him with black beady eyes.

Of course, how could he have forgotten?

He had been so devastated on hearing the news, that he had forgotten the feline that was in his arms and ran out with the kitten clinging onto him.

His heart clenched painfully at the glassy black eyes that stared up at him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, hugging the kitten close to him, as sobs racked his body.

It was when the rays of the setting sun flashed behind his closed eyelids, the warmth of it that enveloped him, did he open them.

His breath caught in his throat while his teary eyes widened, as words echoed throughout his head…

.

.

.

 _It was one of those days where they hung outside the hut, watching the setting sun._

 _The blue feline was curled up in Lucy's lap, purring contentedly at her gentle hands that raked through its fur._

 _Unknown to the blonde, Natsu stared at their son, a tinge of jealousy reflecting in his onyx eyes at the hands that absent mindedly streaked through the blue fur. What he wouldn't give for those hands to be in his hair…_

 _His eyes trailed before landing on the ten-year old girl leaning on his shoulder as she sat beside him with cross-legs, watching the sunset with a blissful smile on her face, the warm evening breeze raking through her golden hair._

 _Onyx eyes lay fixated upon her frame._

 _She was practically glowing._

 _But her smile was the one that shone the most._

 _He was mesmerized…_

 _His heart thumped rapidly against his chest as his throat went dry._

 _The eleven-year old didn't know when and how it happened. Maybe, he may have had them from the time her small hands connected with his, and he didn't recognize them then._

 _But now, he was damn sure and well aware of what he felt for her. But he was too afraid to tell her._

 _Besides, even if he was, he still wanted to be hundred and one percent sure. But then, even if he did tell the girl, he wasn't sure whether she felt the same way for him._

 _So until then, he would wait. They still had a lifetime, right? So, that gave him time consider his feelings carefully.. to learn each and everything about her._

 _It's not like she would suddenly leave him one day, right?_

 _His heart lurched as his breath hitched._

 _He gulped down hard.._

 _Right..?_

 _Before he could stop himself, his voice came out as a whisper, "You won't ever leave me… will you Lucy..?"_

 _"_ _Huh?", the girl tilted her head up to look at him with a frown, "What makes you think that dummy?!"_

 _"_ _Just answer me, Lucy..", pink bangs covered his eyes._

 _"_ _Nats-"_

 _"_ _Please.."_

 _The girl sighed, before a soft smile graced her lips, "I won't ever leave you, Natsu.. never ever, ever..."_

 _The pain in his heart started to ebb away._

 _The boy just nodded briskly before looking forward to hide the tears that moistened his eyes._

 _Moments of silence passed before the girl spoke up._

 _"_ _Ne, Natsu…"_

 _He snapped his head down towards her with a shaky hum. The blonde who was still leaning against him, was looking down at the napping kitten with a loving smile._

 _"_ _You always asked why I named him Happy, right?"_

 _Natsu hummed._

 _She looked up at him, the smile still on her face. Her face was close.. His cheeks warmed at her breath that fanned his face. But he didn't look away, as onyx eyes gazed into brown ones._

 _The rays of the sun reflected in her eyes and Natsu could see the swirls of caramel in them._

 _"_ _It's because he makes you happy.."_

 _He titled his head in confusion, "Huh?"_

 _The blonde sighed as she straightened up to look straightly at him, "That day.. you were so down when you thought about his parents not coming back for him..", she looked back at the sunset, "..and I wanted to give you hope…"_

 _"_ _That laugh, when he tickled you..", she chuckled lightly, "…I remember how happy you were that time..", she looked back at him with an adoring smile._

 _The boy gulped. If only she knew that smile of hers was the reason._

 _If only she knew what that smile of hers does to him…_

 _"_ _Never…"_

 _The boy snapped out of his trance, "Huh?"_

 _"_ _You should never cry. You should always keep that smile on your face okay, Natsu?", the blonde looked at him with quivering eyes._

 _"_ _Lucy…", his voice came out breathy._

 _"_ _Always smile for me, Natsu.. Promise me.."_

 _She held up her pinky,, the smile still on her face._

 _Onyx eyes widened at the brown does eyes that started to tear up._

 _He gulped again and shakily raised his pinky up, leaning forward to wrap it round her smaller one, "I promise.."_

 _The girl smiled a teary one as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his, the golden warm rays of the setting casting a beautiful silhouette against their touching foreheads._

 _"_ _And I promise to never leave you, Natsu… Even if I did, I will always come back to you, no matter where I am…"_

 _And the promise was sealed…_

.

.

And _always_ did he smile.

The moment, the others caught wind of their beloved blonde's departure from none other than Laxus, the first thing they did was to snap their head towards the silent pink-haired teen leaning against the tree.

But he just brushed off their stares as nothing as he brawled with Gajeel and Gray, showing off his toothy grin, and Erza let him be for the time being.

Even at school too, they watched him be his boisterous self, scarfing down his food like no tomorrow.

And when they finally took their eyes off him thinking they were overthinking things, did he finally relax.

His heart was cold empty without her.

Yet, he still held onto their promise that she would come running back to him, with that smile of hers.

And he still kept his promise to smile for her, always. Besides, it was only her who made it easier for him to keep his promise.

She had left him with wonderful friends…

He always wondered what would have become of him, if he had never met her…Or to be more truthful…If she had never found him..

She was the light in his dark world. The light that shone colors into his black-and-white life. Her smile was so bright, that it warded away any grave feelings in him.

Even when she faded away from his life, the brilliance of her smile was so blinding, that it was still etched in his memory as if it were yesterday. A shine that never allowed the colors to fade away from his life.

Even when she went away from his life, she left him with some hope, which was faint, yet flickered stubbornly. The hope that she will come back to him.

His heart clenched as he gritted his teeth in hate for himself.

It was as if she had always looked out for him… and was still looking out for him..

She made it easier for him to keep his promise, by surrounding him with friends, who always looked out for him.. like family.. and so he smiled..

And what did he do for her in return..?

Nothing..

He didn't even know she would be taken away from him.. Even if he had, would he have done something?

While she was somewhere faraway, trying so hard to fulfill his promise, here he was with the ones, left by her, who made it easy for him..

But he knew her.. No matter how hard things got, the fire in her heart would refuse to die down..

He knew she was somewhere out there, fighting to come back to him..

And so he will too..

Striving hard to smile for her… Holding on to that hope…

Even though, the light faded away from his life, his flame of hope refused to die down..

And so, every evening, he would wait at their hut with Happy curled up in his lap as he watched the sun go down.

Evenings turned into weeks.

Weeks turned into months.

And months turned into years.

.

.

.

 _Seven years…_

Another sigh escaped him, as he buried his face deeper.

Suddenly he jolted up from his seat, when cold shot up from his bums throughout his whole body like electricity, his hands immediately flying towards them as he jumped and screamed like a girl.

The sudden clatter on the floor ended his shrieks, with him looking down to see broken pieces of half-melted ice cubes between his feet.

His fists clenched at his sides, a low growl rumbling up his throat, as loud laughter echoed throughout the half empty classroom.

Twisting around, he found the culprit cackling out loud on his back on the floor, having fallen down from his seat, clutching his stomach as he did so.

"YA DAMN STRIPPER!"

The pink-haired teen lunged forward, his fist ready at his side.

And thus began their morning greeting.

No sooner did the scuffle start, than it quickly end when their heads were painfully bashed against each other; a greeting forwarded to them by none other than Erza, the school's very own Student Council President.

"If I see you two fighting again, you will be answering to my _fists_! Am I clear?"

Her venomous hiss was enough to send the boys shivering, with their arms thrown over each other's shoulders, "A-Aye!"

The red-head nodded in satisfaction, crossing her arms across her voluptuous chest.

"Ara, ara..", a long white haired girl entered the room, chuckling at the scene.

"Good morning Mira. I see you two are early.", Erza nodded at the white-haired girl and a bulky white haired teen trailing behind her.

"Good morning, Erza. Lisanna had an assignment to submit before first bell, so yeah..", Mira smiled in return.

"Being early is MAN!", the bulky teen punched his large fists into the air while everyone just sweat-dropped.

Their gang had grown larger when they entered high school, hence becoming more rowdy and fun than ever. But even then, the old group wouldn't fail to reminisce about their beloved friend, every now and then.

Hence, not one person in the gang didn't go _not_ knowing about her. In fact, even though they've never met her, the stories they've heard of her, had already made them feel close to her, wanting to meet up with her already.

"Good morning you guys!", a petite bluenette skipped into the room, followed by a long raven-haired man who only grunted out his greeting, with his hands buried in his pants pockets.

"Levy-chaan!", an orange-haired boy and raven-haired boy lunged forward on seeing their crush, only to retreat to clinging onto each other at the cold hard glare that was sent their way by none other than Gajeel himself.

Over the years, Gajeel and Levy had grown closer and now Gajeel had made it habit to walk the bluenette to and from school.. not that the bluenette didn't like it..

Gajeel smirked at the quivering duo in front of Erza, the rays that littered the classroom, making his face all sparkly with all those studs that littered his face.

Oh yeah.. Living with Metalicana changed Gajeel a lot and hence the piercings all over his face and arms to look like his father.

The classroom door once again slid open, revealing four people, consisting of a sturdy blonde being drooled over by a long green-haired man, followed by a violet haired man with a tattoo across his forehead and a bespectacled brown haired woman, all clad in uniform.

"Good morning!", Mira chirped at the four people.

The brown-haired woman nodded before snapping her head towards the red-head, "I see you're early.. _Titania_."

Erza crossed her arms, tilting her head down slightly as she smiled sinisterly with her eyes closed, "I do have an image to keep up.."

Evergreen smirked, raising her feathered purple fan to cover the lower half of her face, "You won't have to, for long. We'll see who's worthy of the title of Fairy Queen in this year's competition."

Erza nodded, "I will play your game anytime."

The atmosphere in the room was eerily silent as everyone stood frozen, sweating buckets as they silently watched the two women stare sideways at each other with wicked grins, and arms crossed under their busty chests.

A loud growl pierced through the unnerving atmosphere and everyone snapped their heads towards Natsu who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I wasn't feeling like having breakfast earlier…", one hand went to tap against his stomach, "I guess my tummy woke up only now."

"Eh? Natsu not eating food! That's odd!", Levy stared at the pink-haired teen in surprise.

"Why don't we all go to the cafeteria? It's been a while since we hung out together. We have a good one hour before the first bell.", Mira clapped her hands in giddy.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone snapped their head towards the door to see the short haired version of Mira beaming at them.

"Lisanna!"

"Good morning!", she waved at them, before her blue eyes widened in alarm when an arm slung around her shoulders.

"Mornin'!", a slightly flushed brunette appeared alongside Lisanna, smirking at them as she sipped from a small flask in her other hand.

"Cana! You scared me!", Lisanna gasped as her hand went to grip at her chest.

"Eh?", the brunette only raised a lazy brow at her, before sauntering inside, pausing momentarily to look to her side at the raven-haired teen, "Gray, your clothes."

"Aw crap!"

The teen scurried around the room for his clothes, muttering profanities.

A tick mark appeared on the pink-haired teen's forehead as he snapped his head towards the grumbling teen with an annoyed look, "Shut up."

Gray paused in his search, to shoot a menacing stare at him, "Did you just tell me to shut up?"

In an instant, their foreheads butted against each other's as Natsu shot back, "You're really annoying, you pervert!"

"Sparrow head!"

"Slippery bastard!"

"Out of my sight!"

"You stink!"

" _Enough_!"

The red menacing eyes that gleamed from within the shadow of the red bangs were enough to get the boys to cling onto each other again, "A-Aye!"

Erza calmed down at their response before continuing, "Now, we are all going to-"

A growl emanated again and everyone snapped their heads to look at Natsu who looked as confused, "What? It wasn't me!"

Another growl.

That confirmed their suspicions when everyone turned to look at the owner.

Red brow twitched as Erza still maintained her dominant posture with eyes closed and arms crossed.

Her eyes shot open and as she glared at all of them, "As I was saying.. We are going to the cafeteria, have a nice and peaceful breakfast and report for homeroom on time. And you!", she shot an accusing finger at Natsu.

The eighteen-year old flinched, "M-Me?"

"Yes, you! If I hear any insults or comments from that potty mouth of yours..", her hand lowered down to point towards the zipper on his pants, "..then you can kiss your _precious_ baby-making jewels goodbye!"

Natsu's hands instantly shot down towards his precious area as he nodded vigorously.

"Good. Then let's go. Lead the way Natsu.."

"A-Aye.."

Levy looked back to a slightly sweating Gajeel standing awkwardly with one leg in front of the other, covering his pants zipper.

"Gajeel? Are you coming?"

The teen grunted and nodded as he straightened up.

Levy turned to look around the classroom and that's when she noticed.

All the boys were frozen and in one way covering their 'precious jewels', Jet and Droy had their hands openly covering them. Even Gray who stood beside Natsu had his legs squeezed together.

Levy snorted before following a now unfrozen Natsu who shouted as he made his way towards the door, "Alright, let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"

Suddenly the door slid open, and a black shoe clad feet stepped in… a long forgotten scent drifting in…

Natsu froze in his tracks as his heart thumped a little loudly in his chest, staring at the shoe.

 _'This scent…'_

Onyx eyes slowly dragged up along the greyish blue pleated skirt, to the white sailor's shirt which was puffed out by the ample amount of chest, between which rested a short red tie, before trailing upwards.

His breath hitched and his throat suddenly went dry.

Quivering onyx eyes moistened slightly.

His voice was momentarily forgotten somewhere in the back of his mind.

His lips parted to let out a whisper… the name that had been long since uttered… his tongue moving as if to test it out for the very first time…

"Lucy…"

Everyone stood frozen as the old members stared wide-eyed at their long lost friend who was equally frozen, staring wide eyed at them with parted trembling lips.

Levy was the first to break out of her trance, tears streaming down her face as she leaped forwards and glomped the blonde, "L-Lu-chan!"

The others followed suit, all of them tackling the girl to the ground as her name rung throughout the classroom.

Natsu stared at the blonde whose life was now squeezed out by a crying Levy, with a teary-eyed Erza kneeling to her side smiling at them with her hand pressing the blonde's head to her chest, while Laxus towered behind them, watching them with a loving smile on his face with arms crossed, Gajeel and Gray in front of the group with small smiles on their faces.

All of their faces reflected only one emotion. Words weren't exchanged. They never had to. Being together was what mattered most. And they all felt the same.

No matter how much time had passed, the bond that had been tied between their hearts… can never be broken.

"So this is Lucy, huh…?", Mira spoke in a low voice, as she stood a little away from the group, smiling lovingly at them.

Lisanna watched the scene with a similar smile, but a concerned look marred her face as she turned her head towards the frozen teen standing beside her.

Natsu stood still, not moving a muscle, as he stared wide-eyed with slightly parted lips.

Her chest tingled, as her blue eyes moistened. A soft smile tugged at her lips as Lisanna watched the look of disbelief on his face.

On the other hand, Natsu stood unmoving as if his whole body had shutdown.

Quivering yet moistened onyx eyes never left the blonde, watching the tears well up in those brown orbs he so missed staring into, a small smile tugging at her pink lips.

That smile…

He felt a hard thump against his chest.

And just like that… after seven years… the dull beats of his heart slowly turned into raging pounds against his chest..

Like the wild heartbeats of a newborn.. hammering hard against his chest with a newfound will.

He felt life spark up in him once again…

Even if that smile didn't hold the same old brightness he had grown to love.. the shine it held was just enough for now..

The light shining colors more brighter than before.. diffusing back into his almost dull colored life..

"I'm…"

He snapped out of his trance as he watched his beloved blonde's shaking figure as she tried to hold back the sobs, lowering her head a little to hide the tears that threatened to leak out of her eyes.

"I-I'm…b-ba-ck.."

His mind went blank.. his senses, numb. He lost all control and will to move his body.

He couldn't feel thrums of his heart… which was beating wildly at million miles per second… beating wildly with the wish…with the wish that…

His whole being… wished that…

He wished on his whole life…

He wished so _damn hard_ … that..

This was all real…

This was all but a dream….

If it was…

Dazed onyx eyes never left the blonde.

...then he never wanted to wake up.

Even though it was a whisper, it never failed to fill their chests with love and care for the blonde.

Mira stepped forward causing the sniffling blonde to look up.

Even though she was seeing the blonde in person for the time in her life, the stories and the tearful smiles that the others shared were enough for her heart to unconsciously make space for her… to accept the blonde as one of her own… to see her as one of her own..

Tears welled up in her blue orbs, a light pink dusting her pale cheeks, as Mira tilted her head and smiled lovingly at the blonde, "Welcome home.. Lucy.."

Natsu's eyes widened a little more..

 ** _Those words…_**

The blonde stared up at the white-haired girl with teary eyes before ducking her head down.

 ** _So simple…_**

Her hands shot up to cover eyes as sobs racked her body.

 ** _Yet full of feelings.._**

He could feel her… It must have made her so happy… that it hurt..

Because he could feel it too...

Everyone watched with similar smiles, as tears streamed down their beloved blonde's flushed cheeks, her voice coming out louder.

 ** _And with everyone here…_**

"I'm baaack!"

 ** _Their family was now complete._**

Familiar yet long forgotten warmth crept up his cheeks.

He lowered his head a little.

He refused to let his tears flow down.

Pink bangs drooped to cover his tear filled eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips as words echoed throughout his mind.

 _"…_ _.I will always come back to you, no matter where I am…"_

* * *

 **Hopefully, I will update tomorrow.**

 **I know the characters a little OOC.**

 **But, tell me what you guys think.**

 **Should I continue, or stop it here? Since, this is also a suitable ending for the prompt.**


	2. Chapter 2: I promise…

**Hey guys.**

 **First of all, I want to thank all of you for your favorites, follows and sweet reviews. It really really** ** _really_** **made me happy. Although, I am sorry for not replying to your reviews. Been a bit busy. I will reply to your reviews from this chapter on. Sorry.**

 **Without further ado, I present to you Chapter-2.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER : ****I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima sensei.**

 **I do not own cover image also.**

* * *

 **Previously :**

 ** _"….I will always come back to you, no matter where I am…"_**

 **Just to be Clear:**

 **' _Natsu's Thoughts'_**

* * *

 **Chapter-2**

 **I promise…**

* * *

 **~ _Cafeteria_ ~**

"Hmm…"

Droopy onyx eyes slowly dragged around the table of chattering group, as Natsu munched on a piece of bacon strip.

Ever since his brain got aware of the fact that his 'other half' had returned, it was as if his mind had woken up from a 7 year sleep, and told him that-

' _Something's missing…'_

Onyx eyes narrowed a little more, as they skimmed over the chattering table again.

' _It's too calm an-'_

A familiar giggle to his front immediately drew his attention towards it.

Darker shade of pink tinted his cheeks as he immediately buried his nose into his scarf, forgetting his previous task… or rather.. he abandoned his earlier mission replacing it with the mission to 'silently _observe_ the lost princess'…. which ended up with his eyes permanently glued on her.

A blissful sigh escaped him as he silently watched her, while chewing on the same piece of liquefied grub that has been in his mouth from the time they had gotten their food from the cafeteria.

Next to him, white strands stuck out from a white tuft of hair at random places, as if shocked, with the white-head currently simmering in purple vexing aura.

A tick mark threatened to appear on her forehead, as Lisanna sipped on her drink while silently watching Natsu next to her, who was silently staring like a lovesick puppy, at the blonde who sat across from them surrounded by their friends, as he nibbled on a piece of bacon strip.

 _Nibbled!_

It has been fifteen minutes since they reached the cafeteria and got their food, and yet Natsu _still_ hasn't finished his _first_ bacon strip.

Natsu was never known to be silent _and_ a slow-eater. Everyone else was too absorbed with their beloved blonde to notice this drastic change in the pink-haired teen.

Lisanna felt like yanking on her hair out of frustration.

Twelfth grade had only just begun _today_ and **_this_** happens!

Come on! Homeroom period hasn't even started yet!

Could he **_be_** anymore pathetic?!

"Luuucy!"

Lisanna jumped in her seat at the sudden yell as everyone at the table turned towards the direction of the voice.

Before anyone could comprehend what was going on, Lucy's right hand was already held by an orange haired teen kneeling next to her, startling the poor blonde.

"Your prince on white horse has arrived!"

"Loke!", the blonde's voice came out as a squeak.

He brushed his lips over her knuckles as Lucy blushed slightly while sweat-dropping.

A low menacing growl emanated from somewhere causing a shiver to unconsciously run up everyone's spines.

Lisanna shuddered at the dark aura that emanated from the pink-haired teen next to her while Erza adjusted her glasses as she curiously looked around the table, "Was it just me or did someone just.. growl..?"

"I see you promoted yourself from knight to prince?", Lucy deadpanned at Loke.

Loke adjusted his blue tinted shades as he smirked, "What can I say..? When your beauty- Gwah!", a medium-sized sachet of hot sauce smacked into his face exploding all over him.

Everyone jumped in their seats as the orange haired teen ran away screaming about his burning eyes.

Lisanna watched the retreating figure of poor Loke before snapping her head sideways just in time to see Natsu with a wicked toothy grin on his face as he sneaked another sachet of hot sauce from his pocket onto the table, immediately putting on a bored face as everyone turned back towards the table.

The group continued to chatter with Lucy while Lisanna and Natsu watched them silently, with the pixie-cut girl sneaking glances at Natsu every now and then.

"N-Natsu-san…"

The table fell silent as everyone turned to look towards Natsu who had turned around to face the owner of the timid voice.

"Um.. Do I know you?", Natsu tilted his head in confusion.

The long-white haired girl flinched before gripping onto the package in her hands, "Ah.. W-Well.. I-I am in almost every one of your classes. M-My name is A-Angel, Angel Sorano. Y-You might not have noticed me since.. I-I sit in the far back with my friends.. so that's okay..", the girl sheepishly laughed.

"Oh, sorry. Um.. I don't know you.", Natsu tried to sound as sorry as possible although he ended up being rude to her anyway, irritated at getting interrupted from his precious blonde-watching.

"A-Ah, that's okay. I-I have been watching you for some time now and have been dying for an opportunity like this. I-I just came to give this to you…. I-In hopes that….that you will accept my feelings…", the girl blushed as she extended the pink gift-wrapped heart shaped box towards the puzzled teen, "P-Please go out with me, Natsu-san!", the girl squeezed her eyes shut tight.

Natsu was taken aback as he stared at the pink package in bewilderment.

"That's around the zillionth girl to confess to Natsu..", the whisper had Lucy turning to her side, to see Mira next to her who was staring worriedly at the girl, "…poor girl.. I can't help feel worried for her already."

Lucy slightly tilted her head in confusion, "Why is that?"

Mira turned to look at her, "Well, Natsu was never the one to accept confessions.. given how _dense_ he is.. and hence the girl ends up in a depressed state with his words or actions of maintaining friendship. But, that's not what I'm worried about.."

This piqued the blonde's interest as she stared back at the timid girl.

Mira continued, "Every time a girl confesses to Natsu, she ends up not coming to school for a week or a month. And when they do return back, they avoid him like the plague…", Mira sighed as she looked back at the white-haired girl, "At first, we thought that it was due his rejection. But lately, we've been hearing rumors of some gang threatening and harassing these girls to stay away from him. We're not sure about it though, since none of the victims have admitted to it.", Mira shrugged as she looked back at the blonde who had turned to look at her, "And since the rumor was deemed false every time, the confessions keep coming on and on."

"I'm sorry.."

Both of them turned towards Natsu whose head was now lowered as bangs overshadowed his eyes.

"I'm sorry.. I cannot accept your feelings."

Mira's eyes widened as she gasped lightly, the sound not going unheard by the blonde who snapped her head towards the surprised girl, "What is it?"

Mira continued staring at Natsu with wide-eyes, "It's… It's the first time I'm seeing Natsu act so mature. Most of the time, he always laughs it off or gets distracted by fights and insults from Gray or others. But this… this is a first.."

"M-May I know the reason?", the now teary-eyed girl stared at him.

They watched as Natsu flinched in his seat, his head still lowered as his lips tightened into a thin line before lifting his head to stare up at the girl who was standing beside him, looking straight into her eyes.

Lucy's eyes widened a little, ' _Is he… blushing..?'_

His eyes onyx wavered a little, but otherwise stood fixated on the girl's teary eyes, his blush intensifying, "I just don't see you that way is all.."

"I-It's not just that.. is it?", the girl clenched her fists at her sides, her grip on the present tightening as she gritted her teeth, "There's more to it than that! Isn't there?!", her face was red with anger.

Everyone was shocked at her sudden change in demeanor.

Mira frowned in slight annoyance, "This girl sure is stubborn.."

Lisanna watched the pink-haired teen as he lowered his head again while letting out a heavy breath while his lips tightened into a thin line. Her inner self was doing flips and happy dances at his rejection, while her outer self just glared at the obstinate girl, ' _What the hell is up with her?'_

"Well?", her tone turned demanding, as the girl's stare turned into a full-blown glare.

Gray got up from his seat diagonally across Natsu's, clearly annoyed with the once shy girl, "Hey! Wasn't his answer good enough for yo-"

"Why don't you stay out of this? Huh?", the girl raised a sarcastic brow at him, "This is between _me_ and _him_. I don't want any perverted _man-whores_ butting in-"

 _"_ _Only_ _ **I**_ _get to call him that!"_

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the pink-haired teen who had shot up from his seat, and was now towering over the girl, his cold slitted eyes boring into hers, "Boy. Or girl, I don't give a _shit.",_ he bared out his fangs at the word, "..I won't tolerate _anyone_ badmouthing my friends. No matter how annoying that person is, a friend is _still_ a friend."

The trembling girl took a step back as she gaped up at a frightening Natsu, "And to answer your question… _my reasons for rejection are_ _ **mine**_ _only_. _You don't have_ _ **any**_ _ **right**_ _to force it out of me. Am I clear?"_

Even though the venomous hiss was directed at the quivering girl, everyone couldn't help but shiver at this unusual personality of his. Even Gray unconsciously gulped as he stared at his frienemy, his brow lining with sweat.

The girl briskly nodded in fear.

"Good..", Natsu turned around to sit down but he paused as he lowered his head, "..Oh, and one more thing… If I see you or your minions _anywhere_ near _my_ friends for this matter..", he slowly titled his head sideways to direct a deathly stare at her from the corner of his eyes, as his voice came out sinisterly low, " _I will_ _ **personally**_ _see to it that your life is a living_ _ **hell.**_ "

The girl held back a shriek as she took another step back.

Natsu turned around, his voice still low, "Now go before I lose it!"

He needn't repeat himself as the girl and her lackeys scurried away for dear life while Natsu settled down in his seat.

Eerie silence loomed over the whole table as the group sat still, staring warily at Natsu, with the exception of Gray who was still standing as he looked down at the pink-haired teen who was now squirting hot sauce from the sachet over his bacon strips, with a poker face as if nothing happened.

Lisanna was _so_ happy that if Natsu weren't as intimidating as he was now, she would have tackled him to the ground, squealing into his ear. She was trying hard to keep the smile from attacking her lips.

Noticing the unnerving silence, the pink-haired teen raised his head to look at everyone with a blank face as he chewed on the sauce drenched bacon strip in his hand, "What?"

Everyone jumped out of their skin before snapping their attention back to the blonde.

 _'_ _Is it me.. or does he look.. pale? And.. why is he chewing on that bacon strip as if… he was giving birth to a baby..?'_

The thoughts disappeared as Lisanna watched the pink blush that appeared on Natsu's cheeks as he caught the concerned glances shot towards him by a certain blonde every now and then.

She glanced down at her wrist-watch and her eyes widened. ' _Only a half hour left!'_

"Lucy!"

The said blonde snapped her head towards the pixie-cut girl with a questioning hum.

Lisanna smiled widely, "Could you swap seats with me? I _need_ to talk to Mira-nee about something."

"Oh, sure.", the blonde nodded, rising up from her seat.

Natsu gulped, before stiffening as Lucy's arm brushed against his as she slid in next to him, goose-bumps instantly shooting up all over his body followed by an increase in his overall otherwise abnormal temperature.

Since the whole table was tightly packed, the blonde had no choice but to sit close to Natsu, which involved both of them being tightly squeezed together.

Every slight movement from the blonde send shivers throughout his whole body, each laugh that elicited from her sent his heart soaring. Even the slightest of breath she inhaled or exhaled was sending his mind into a state of frenzy.

And that scent…

His nose wouldn't stop taking deep breaths.

 _'_ _Oh God…'_

His eyes drooped a little as he unconsciously took in another long whiff.

 _'_ _Strawberry and with a hint of Vanilla.'_

He was in a state of bliss.

 _'_ _I missed this….'_

He sighed in content as a small smile appeared on his lips.

 _'_ _It's been so long…'_

Suddenly his eyes widened as his body stiffened.

' _What the…'_

What just.. happened?

' _What the hell was I doing?'_

He must be looking like a pervert now!

He felt his body temperature rise even higher and higher.

Heat began to creep up from his neck and he felt the tip of his ears scorching hot.

His eyes immediately darted around the table to see if anyone noticed his.. behavior.

Everyone was focused on the blonde.

His shoulders sagged as his eyes drooped back still trailing around the table.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips, before freezing up again.

Wide onyx eyes locked with cerulean eyes which twinkled in amusement.

A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as Lisanna maintained her sideways gaze on him.

Amusement turned into full-blown surprise as her eyes widened, snapping her head towards him on seeing his adorable blush deepening into dark red covering the entirety of his face at being caught.

"Eh? Natsu! Are you having a fever?", Levy, who was seated on the other side of Natsu, peered up at him with wide eyes, "Your skin feels _way_ too hot! _Hotter_ than that abnormal body temperature of yours!"

Natsu jerked at the sudden attention, his heart beating more erratically. And it didn't help when the blonde suddenly turned around to silently look up at him with those beautiful doe brown eyes which he loved _so_ _ **so**_ _much_ , her intense stare keeping him in place.

' _Aw Gawd…'_

He wasn't sure if smoke was coming out of his ears as he sat stiff, with the blonde peering up into his eyes and he didn't even feel Levy's hand on his forehead as she checked his temperature.

If he didn't divert his eyes now, he was sure he would get lost in them.

But a sudden twinkle to the side, behind the blonde caught his attention.

His onyx eyes momentarily darted towards it before widening even more if possible on seeing Lisanna still smiling at him knowingly, before winking at him and turning back to carry on with her conversation with Mira.

 _Now,_ he was _damn_ sure that smoke was spewing out of his red ears...

' _Damn you Lisanna! I'll get you back for this!'_

* * *

"Uwaaa… So much has changed..", the blonde breathed out as she looked around, brown eyes twinkling in awe at the newly constructed park that surrounded the grassy slope where they were currently perched on.

Erza hummed with a soft smile as she stood with her arms crossed, enjoying the evening breeze that blew through her scarlet hair, her navy blue skirt fluttering along with the wind, "So much has changed…"

"I'm glad that they didn't cut down the tree and this hilltop is just the same as before..", a reminiscing smile appeared on the blonde's face.

"We often come here and hang out.. it's like this spot was made just for us..", Levy smiled at the blonde.

"I wonder what else hasn't changed…", the blonde rested her head on her knees which were pulled to her chest, as she looked far off with a blissful smile on her face.

Onyx eyes widened a little on realizing the implication behind her words, as he watched the girl who had a longing look in her eyes.

' _Does she still…'_

He hoped she still hasn't forgotten.. He wished, that was what she meant..

The blonde must've thought that the group must have come to know about it by now, since it was a childish idea they had back then.

Lowering his head, he sighed, a small smile playing across his lips.

Looking back now, it _was_ childish.

But to him, it was still the place that held their most precious memories…

He wondered what Lucy thought of it.

Does she also feel the same way?

He hoped so..

Lifting up his head to rest it against the tree trunk, he continued to carefully watch the blonde, as she silently listened to the girls with a small smile, occasionally throwing in her opinions here and there when needed.

His eyes stood transfixed on her.

No matter how many times he watched her, he never got tired. In fact, it was the complete _opposite_ of tired, always exited to learn a new thing about her, every moment his eyes rested on her.

Every movement… Even the slightest flicker in her eyes..

Every single time he becomes aware of the next available chance to watch her, a burst of new energy spreads throughout him like wildfire sending his heart and nerves into a state of frenzy.

That morning, on the first day, when he and Lucy sat together in the cafeteria, he did try to talk to her, _so many_ _ **damn many**_ _times!_

He even rehearsed his opening lines like a _zillion_ times during those first fifteen minutes they had sat in the cafeteria - before that nagging 'realization' had hit him-, _plus_ those extra minutes before they reached there.

But the moment they sat down, his courage started to slowly deflate like steam whistling out of a pressure cooker.

And when that girl, whatever-the- _hell-_ her-name-was, confessed to him, the first thing that came to his mind was the reason he never accepted any girls' confessions. The reason he always acted dense in front of everyone.

The reason, at the time, that was sitting across from him, being the center of attention of his group.

The reason for his blush at that time..

But when the girl decided to pry into his matters _and_ insult Gray, no matter how annoying the stripper was, his anger took over, bringing out the 'dark' Natsu in him. And just like that, he had forgotten what he had wanted to say to the blonde.

Only after the girl and her lackeys had run away did he realize that the blonde was there.

Oh.. How _badly_ did he want to just bash himself so _hard_ to the point he would forget his own name.

But then, even if he did forget his name, he could _never_ forget her..

Natsu lowered his head and chuckled lightly, before a frown took its place.

He remembered his dilemma, internally torn between wanting to scream out like a girl in the stripper's face and wanting to dig a hole under the table and crawl into it, paling when he couldn't choose either while he robotically squirted hot sauce all over his bacon strips.

He remembered how hard he tried to _not_ run out of the cafeteria in embarrassment, taking out his frustration on the bacon strip he chewed on.

But.. Lucy didn't seem affected by his rash behavior at all, or why else would he have blushed like a high school girl when he realized she was looking worriedly at him every now and then that morning.

Oh… And don't get him started on what happened after that.

When the blonde had sat next to him he had decided then and there that he would say whatever that came first to his mind, in order to break the ice.

He internally sobbed.

When those brown eyes peered into his soul, his last ounce of courage melted away.

Ugh! He was a sucker for those _cute_ doe _brown_ puppy eyes…

Why did she have to look at him like thaaat?!

Speaking of which…

A sinister smirk tugged on his lips, as red eyes peered from under the shadow of the pink bangs, gleaming at a certain pixie-cut girl.

He still had a score to settle with that girl.

He cracked his knuckles as his smirk turned toothily evil.

' _Just you wait…_ _ **Lisanna..**_ _'_

In her spot near the blonde, a cold shiver ran up her spine. Lisanna froze before cautiously looking left and right.

' _I feel like…something bad is going to happen.. to me..?'_

Natsu sighed, his gaze trailing back over to the blonde..

 _One week_ had passed and he even didn't get the guts to say a 'Hi' to her.

He internally groaned, wanting to melt into dirt puddle.

His shoulders sagged in disappointment.

' _Ugh. I_ _ **loathe**_ _myself..'_

Some childhood friend _he_ was.

It's not like he never tried. He _had_ tried. So many _damn_ times to at least open his mouth, only for air to pass out of them and her walking away not knowing that he was right behind her.

 _And every_. **_Single_**. _Time_ when she _did_ notice him, he would open his mouth, encouraging himself that it was the same old Lucy, only to end up gaping like a fish the moment her brown eyes met his. And all thoughts and encouragements of the blonde being his same six-year old partner-in-crime from back then, went out the window…

Onyx eyes took in her features… like they had, for the past one week.. whenever the blonde was in sight.

She looked _nothing_ like that girl back then.

In fact, there were no words to describe her.

He admits that he did have a poor vocabulary. But he did know simple words like, beautiful, gorgeous and so on.

But looking at the blonde, what **_idiot_** would even _think_ of using _those_ words to describe her?

Even the word 'goddess' won't be fitting. The said goddesses will shy away from the beauty that radiated from her.

She was the definition of perfection. No. That was also wrong. If one wants to know what perfect means, then they only need to look at her.

If someone's beauty is to be rated, then it would be on a scale of 1 to Lucy.

His eyes _never_ got tired of looking into her doe brown eyes which turned into a light shade of caramel every time the sun reflected in them.

His never got tired of the scent which never failed to turn his insides all gooey.

And that figure of hers…

Oh! Don't even get him started on it. Cause.. he would never be able to stop.

She has got the perfect set of curves in all the right places.. was all he will say.. to be precise.. he would stop himself there… or rather someone should stop him there before it was too late.

If he went into detail, then he would be lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood.

Yep! He's turned into a pervert!

But then.. he was a pervert when it comes to the blonde only.

 _'_ _But…'_

A soft smile tugged at his lips.

She looks like her mother…

Every time she smiled, he felt at home. Safe and loved.

Always had, back then... And still is, now.

But still..

That smile she wore now…

His smile dropped a little.

…Her smile has lost its shine.

Her eyes didn't seem to hold the same brightness in them.

She's changed over seven years. She never talked or laughed or smiled like the Lucy they knew. Maybe, it was the fact that they are all grown up now.

But still, it was like she was holding back. Or rather, something was holding her back.

But he knew…

That somewhere deep inside, their Lucy was still there.

 _The Lucy_ _ **he**_ _knew was still there.._

And he wanted to be the one to bring her back. To be there for her no matter what.

He wanted to be one to bring back that _shine of her smile_.

But it was so _damn hard_ to talk to her.

Yet, he was happy that the girl had almost all the classes with him, even though they never got the chance to talk with each other, being hogged by his friends almost **_all_** _the time_.

But who can blame them? She had been away for seven freaking years! That's like… like 2555 days!

And to him it was like **_220752000_** **_seconds_**!

Woah! Did he seriously calculate that last night?!

Wait. No, no.. It was even more than that, since he missed her _every_ **_single_** moment when he'd always think of what she would be doing, all the smiles he'd have missed, all the adventures he'd missed.

When in fact, he was wrong in thinking that he had missed them…

How would he have missed them, when there were none in those 7 years…?

His heart clenched as his mind wandered back to last week.

Although the blonde had laughed and smiled and listened to each and every thing of what her friends had been up to, she had never told them about hers. Everyone had been so happy that their blonde was back that they had been too excited about who got to tell their story first, and hence forgot to ask her about _her_ seven years.

Natsu sighed, his face turning serious while onyx eyes still stayed on the blonde.

It was that, or the blonde was too clever to divert their attention from her life.

.

.

.

 _One day, after school, Natsu had rushed back to retrieve his forgotten assignments from his locker. And for the first time in his life, he was glad for his forgetfulness._

 _After retrieving them, just as he was about to make his way back towards the exit of the building, voices from a nearby classroom caught his attention._

 _Natsu was never one to eavesdrop on people. Hell, he was never even one to give second thought about who they were, but an all too familiar voice that he had started to want to hear more and more, after missing it for seven years, had drawn him to the almost empty classroom._

 _Peering in through the glass pane of the closed door, his eyes caught sight of his beloved blonde with a smile on her face, leaning against the windowsill on the far side of the room as Levy and Erza talked animatedly._

 _The blonde was never one to stop them in mid-sentence… which she did._

 _"_ _Don't tell me you guys told me to wait here for you after school, so that you could tell me about hanging out at Levy's for a girls' night?", the blonde raised a brow at them with arms crossed, "You could've told me about this during the recess.. If not, by calling me on my cell? Seriously guys? You and I both know that this was not why you wanted to talk to me.", her face turned neutral as she looked at them._

 _Erza sighed, crossing her arms across her busty chest as she lowered her head, "Okay.. you caught us..", she looked back up at the blonde, a somber look on her face, "The reason why we called you here was because we wanted to talk to you alone."_

 _Lucy titled her head a little, "Huh? You mean, only we three will be there for the sleepover..? But still, you could've told me that through the phone?"_

 _Erza shook her head as she smiled at the little miscommunication, "No, Lucy.. What we meant was, we want_ _ **you**_ _to talk to us alone.. Since you never told us about what you've been up to, in front of everyone, we figured it was because you were never close with the others as you were with us.."_

 _The pink-head frowned as he growled inwardly, '_ _ **Me**_ _! She was closer with_ _ **me**_ _!'_

 _Erza's smile dropped as she stared at the blonde, "We want to know about what happened with you, Lucy.."_

 _The blonde's eyes widened, "Wha- Why are you guys-"_

 _"_ _We all missed you, Lucy.", Levy stepped forward, gazing up at her with teary eyes, "When you suddenly disappeared on us, we were all… we were all devastated! You were the one who brought us all together. If it weren't for you, we would never be here together, like this.. And we all_ _ **swore**_ _that we would stick together, no matter what... But…"_

 _Erza interjected, "You think we never thought about how you were doing..? That we all moved on from you, and made new friends…..?"_

 _A moment of silence passed before the red-head continued, her voice grim, "You found us, Lucy…", Erza lowered her head, her brown eyes trained on the floor, "Each one of us were going through our darkest times.."_

 _Natsu lowered his head, onyx eyes quivering a little and his face mirroring pain of a forgotten past._

 _Erza continued, her voice now low and soft, "An erstwhile introvert, who was shown a world outside the books in the school library she had chosen to hide herself in."_

 _With a small sad smile, Levy lowered her head as tears started to well up at her forgotten life._

 _"_ _A reckless pig-head, who finally found a place he could fit in because no one would be with him because of his stripping persona.", Erza chuckled lightly._

 _The corners of the pink-haired teen's lips threatened to tug up at the red-head's mention of a certain raven-haired teen._

 _"_ _An intimidating and apathetic boot-face, always mistaken for his intimidating aura, who finally found people who aren't scared of him, when he helped the said persons who tried to stand up to their bullies."_

 _Natsu watched as Levy's eyes closed, her reminiscing smile widening a little more. He remembered Levy telling him about how she and Lucy met Gajeel._

 _"_ _A whilom outcast, once accused for an inadvertent accident happened while trying to save a friend, the punishment for which was accepted willingly, wandering aimlessly while shouldering an endless guilt, who finally learned that one can overcome any pinch if he's got his loved ones by his side…", a small smile tugged at the red-head's lips, "…who is now a playboy 'prince on a white horse' to a princess who gave him the courage to move forward…"_

 _Natsu couldn't help but feel happy for Loke. Even though it was a long time back, the words still affected him. He didn't know much about Loke's past, but he did know that the boy had suffered a lot, going as far as to let a silly yet fatal fever take his life, if it weren't for the blonde._

 _And they say, princes save the princesses all the time.._

 _Natsu chuckled inwardly._

 _"_ _A used-to-be selfish snob, with no care for those around him, who finally started to grow fond of the girl, who lectured him out of childish innocence while unknowing of his fearsome personality, to the point of being an overprotective brother figure for her and still is, to this day…", the red-head closed her eyes, the smile still on her face, "….and through her eyes, has learned to grow very fond of the family he has now, to the point of laying his life for them."_

 _His lips ached and Natsu had no choice but to let them curve up into a loving smile as he stared with soft glassy eyes, at Lucy who stared at the ground with a grim face._

 _Laxus.._

 _"_ _A once frequently bullied orphan, with no one to point to as someone he had talked to for at least one time… who is now surrounded by a large family.. whom he would die for.."_

 _A melancholic smirk tugged on his lips, a painful lump forming in his throat, as a lone tear slid down from under the shadow of the pink bangs that covered his eyes._

 _"_ _And finally…", Erza lifted up her face to smile softly at the wide-eyed blonde, "A once one-eyed recluse, who was formerly known as the school's resident intimidator which was erased once she was taught to open up to others…", a lone tear slid down the red-head's once damaged right eye._

 _Erza continued, "Each one of us were going through situations, so tough that at some point we started to lose hope and think that were meant to be alone… that we deserved what we were facing… But you… you found us.. You were like a beacon in our dark life… unknowingly guiding us towards the light in our world.. Encouraging us to move forward, to push and to fight against our demons with all we've got.."_

 _Erza's smile faded as she looked into the blonde's eyes, her voice wavering slightly, "So don't think for o-one second… t-that we never really care to know about you.."_

 _Golden bangs shadowed her eyes as Lucy lowered head, her voice coming out low, "There is nothing you need to know about.."_

 _Erza wasn't willing to give up, as she pressed on, tears starting to well up in her eyes again, "Y-You knew everything about us…"_

 _The scarlet haired president tried to maintain her voice as she spoke, "Back then also.. you were always like that.. you a-always listened to anything and everything we had to spout out.. be it a lousy joke, a nonsensical thought… a happy past… or even a s-sad f-feeling… whatever we felt like saying.. or sharing.. every feeling we-e felt, you were the one who listened to us…"_

 _Her voice lowered a little, "…and even though you never had answers to each and every thing we told you.. you being there for us… was more than enough…"_

 _Guilt clouded her voice as she continued, "And-And to think that, we never knew or asked anything about you…about w-why you suddenly left us.. Where do we stand Lu..cy? A-Aren't we your friends? We at least deserve to know why you moved away..", Erza's face looked pained._

 _Natsu watched the blonde's shaking hands clench into fists at her sides as she turned around to face the window._

 _Levy sniffled as she croaked, "W-We were like….the_ _ **best**_ _of friends, Lucy…", the bluenette's shaky voice turned breathy, "..Weren't we?"_

 _Natsu's eyes widened and his heart clenched painfully when he caught a glimpse of the blonde's face._

 _A lone tear slid down from under the shadow of the golden bangs, streaking down to the side of her trembling pink lips._

 _"_ _Alright…"_

 _Even though it was a whisper, his sensitive ears still picked them up._

 _The blonde's voice became audible and Natsu could see that she was trying to keep her tone as normal as she could, "The reason I never told you guys…was because I-I didn't… I didn't want you guys to be worried for me… Even when I came back… I wanted to forget.. And being with you guys, helped me a lot. That day.. I didn't tell you guys that I was leaving, because I wanted to remember all of you, smiling and laughing and being yourselves.."_

 _Her voice turned slightly louder yet a little shaky, "I love you all_ _ **so**_ _much, that I never want_ _ **any**_ _of our days to be different... I wanted that last day to be like any other day, so that I could_ _ **still**_ _remember our reckless filled days…with the hope… t-that,", her voice started to lower slowly, "..if I ever were to come back… I sti-ill wanted to enjoy being our rowdy selves…"_

 _The blonde's voice turned soft, her back still turned to the girls, "Tell me Erza.. Would all of you have behaved as you did on any other day, if I had told you I was leaving?"_

 _Erza only lowered her head to stare at the ground as her lips tightened into a thin line, her brows wrinkled slightly in grimace while her fists lightly clenched at her sides._

 _A silent chuckle escaped the blonde, her golden bangs still covering her eyes, "Thought so.. And Levy-chan.. Would you have sent me off, with a promise of reading a book together when I come back, like we used to make every day… and that bubbly giggle of yours that I love so much..?"_

 _The bluenette also just lowered her head, her brows already scrunched together, staring sadly at the blurry image of the ground as she sniffled._

 _Natsu watched the corners of the blonde's lips tug up into a sad smile._

 _Placing a trembling hand on the window sill, she lifted up her face to stare out the window._

 _The lump in his throat which had begun to fade away, started to ache again on seeing her emotionless face._

 _No tears moistened her eyes.. No color graced her pale white skin.._

 _Her face was devoid of emotions.. as if… it had lost the ability to mirror what she felt…_

 _It was like, she felt nothing.._

 _His widened slightly.._

 _Just like the smile she wore from the first day she came back.. as if.. her smile held no emotion in them.._

 _As if…_

 _As if she wasn't capable of feeling anything.. anymore.._

 _"_ _You remember how Mama always felt dizzy, waving it off as being due to the heat of the sun..? Do you remember when you used to ask her how she managed to stay so thin…?"_

 _The blonde never waited for their replies as she continued, "The day before I left, Mama collapsed from exhaustion.. Exhaustion from what…no one ever knew, since she was always with me or Papa and at times managing the mansion, but otherwise she was always relaxed…."_

 _"_ _Our family doctor couldn't find out what was wrong with her, except that her heartbeat was steadily decreasing. He suggested moving to America, where she would be under the care of renowned doctors… And so, everything was immediately arranged in order to fly over there…"_

 _She paused, taking in a shaky breath before continuing, "I couldn't_ _ **not**_ _see you guys for one last time._ _ **Believe**_ _me, I-I really wanted to tell you guys everything but… I didn't know when we would come back.. and I didn't want to part with you guys being worried for me... I-It took every ounce of willpower in me to_ _ **not**_ _let my smile falter, on my last day with you guys..."_

 _Her trembling hands clenched, trying to stop them from shaking, before relaxing them again, "Mama undertook a series of treatments and tests for almost a year… I watched her every single day as she became more and more thin…I was so helpless, not being able to do anything for her.. I felt weak.. But that smile of hers was what kept me going… And you guys too…."_

 _"_ _The doctors were never able to find out the cause..", she let out a breath, "And after a year, she was moved into our mansion there.. By some miracle, the color had started to return back to her face and the fading hope in me began to strengthen once more…I began to hope that she would make it…"_

 _Her lips tugged up again into one of reminiscence, "I remember how happy she looked on my eleventh birthday... Even though she was still confined to her bed, that day was the most memorable day of all..", trembling hands went up to her shirt collar._

 _Onyx eyes caught a shimmer in between the blonde's fingers.._

 _A locket..?_

 _Her brown eyes still gazed out of the window, a far-off look in them, "She was the one who taught me to smile through my pain.."_

 _Her smile faltered a little, "I continued to spend as much time with her as I could… her telling me stories.. me telling her how my classes went…."_

 _Her other hand went up towards the glass, her slim fingers lightly brushing down against the pane ever so slowly, as her eyes trailed upwards into the evening sky. Her smile faltered a little more._

 _Natsu's lips tightened into a thin line on seeing her brown eyes that reflected the light of the evening sun…_

 _Still emotionless.._

 _Her voice turned breathy, "I still remember the night.. we watched the stars together…."_

 _His chest ached… so hard.. the pain yet dull.. as if it knew beforehand, what was to follow next.._

 _The painful lump in his throat only grew heavier and it was becoming more difficult for him to swallow.._

 _His eyes moistened on catching the slightest quiver in those brown eyes that stared off into the pinkish orange sky outside._

 _It was getting difficult for him to breathe.._

 _His ears had now turned sharp and alert, as if not to miss each and every breath that escaped the blonde._

 _Why…? What happened to her mom…?_

 _Her hands dropped to her sides, as the blonde slowly lowered her head again, her golden bangs falling over her eyes, while her lips tugged up into a melancholic smirk._

 _A small shaky breath escaped her she continued, her voice turning lethargic, "Well.. that… was the last time.. we watched the stars together…", she let out another shaky sigh, her voice slightly trembling, ".o-or, anything of that sort…"._

 _Quivering glassy onyx eyes watched helplessly, as she gripped onto her skirt to hide her trembling hands._

 _Her face was pale._

 _Except for her hands, overall she looked composed.. as if.. she was already used to it._

 _As if… she had no more tears to shed… no more emotions to spare.._

 _As if… she was empty inside…_

 _His fists clenched at his sides.._

 _Oh, how he wished he was the one standing there in their place… he would just pull her into a hug and tell her to let it all out as he held her as close to him as their bodies would let him…_

 _He watched as the girls stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at their friend with parted lips._

 _"_ _L-Lucy…", the bluenette whimpered._

 _"_ _Don't worry Levy chan..", her voice was soft as the blonde turned around._

 _His breath hitched in his throat, staring at the blonde with slightly parted mouth._

 _'_ _Lucy..'_

 _A sad yet loving smile stretched across her face as another lone tear slid down from the corner of her eye, and trailed down her pale cheek._

 _Even then… her eyes were still emotionless.._

 _"_ _I'm okay now..", her eyes trailed away from the bluenette, looking off into a corner, "I am happy that Mama didn't have to suffer for long... In fact… she looked like she didn't suffer from any pain… like she was sleeping.. and.. she had that smile on her face that I love so much.. So yeah… I'm fine …"_

 _"_ _Besides…", brown eyes looked back at the two girls, the sadness in her smile faltering, "I've got you guys. Right?"_

 _Natsu inhaled sharply._

 _It was too much too for him.. He didn't know how he was managing to hold himself back.._

 _'_ _Lucy.. '_

 _He hated the fact that she wasn't crying…_

 _His heart was beating with pain for the blonde.._

 _'_ _What the hell happened to her…?'_

 ** _'_** ** _You were the light in our dark world..'_**

 _His breath was becoming erratic, becoming short and shaky… and broken.._

 _That emotionless face of hers…_

 _Before she knew it, two pairs of arms encased her into a tight hug as the bluenette squeaked, "W-We're so s-sorry Lucy.."_

 _Erza's rasped, "We.. We didn't know.."_

 _The blonde just hugged them back, bangs overshadowing her eyes again, with the smile still on her face, "Hey.. Hey.. I told you, I'm fine.."_

 _Her voice was soft._

 ** _'_** ** _Our pillar of courage..'_**

 _The lump in his dry throat was becoming so painful that he couldn't tolerate it._

 _'_ _What the hell is up with that smile.. you weirdo…'_

 _His whole body shook and his knuckles turned white as his fist tightened more and more._

 _His teeth clenched, as he squeezed his eyes shut._

 _Tears dribbled down from under the shadow of his pink bangs._

 _Even though, it was her who should be doing this, he was the one who wanted to cry out loud._

 _Ugh! Look at him. All pathetic and broken.._

 ** _'_** ** _Even after you found us… we were still haunted by our past.. our demons..'_**

 _He furiously wiped at his eyes, taking in deep breaths to calm himself._

 _"_ _Shit..."_

 _He sniffled a little to clear his running nose._

 _The effect, this blonde had on him…_

 _'_ _Only you can make me go all weird like this, you weirdo!'_

 _He lifted his head up to peer in through the pane again._

 _The blonde, who still had that soft loving smile on her face, was still hugging the girls, the red-head who was crying into her shoulder while the bluenette wailed into her chest, as the trio kneeled on the ground in a pile of tangled limbs._

 _Natsu frowned before turning away…_

 _That smile…_

 _Even though he knew, it was held back…_

 _Why does it always manage to make him feel all calm inside.._

 ** _'…_** ** _.with that smile on your face… you were always there…'_**

 _He growled inwardly, the scowl still present on his face as he stared once more at her smiling face, before letting out an abrupt sigh._

 _He turned around, titling his head sideways to gaze at the scene again from the corner of his eyes._

 _A soft smile tugged on his lips._

 _'_ _Those idiots.. They are the ones who are supposed to comfort her.. not the other way around..'_

 _He looked away and shook his head slightly, chuckling silently to himself._

 ** _'…_** ** _for Levy… Gray.. Gajeel… Loke.. Laxus… Erza…'_**

 _He looked back to stare at the blonde._

 _That smile of hers certainly can bring out a whole lot of emotions that they didn't know they had in them.._

 _Onyx eyes were trained on her face._

 ** _'_** ** _Me…'_**

 _She may be able to fool the others with that smile.._

 _He turned around and leaned back against the wall near the door, burying his hands into his pants pockets._

 _But she has to try more than that to fool him.._

 _He sighed again, his head drooping to rest his chin against his chest, as he closed his eyes._

 ** _'_** ** _Helping us through it all…'_**

 _Even though that smile seemed natural, it held so much behind it…_

 _His relaxed visage turned serious._

 _There's more to her story…_

 ** _'_** ** _And now that you're lost in your own dark void…'_**

 _His eyelids fluttered open as he gazed at the ground._

 _That smile of hers held a lot behind it… and he was gonna find out.._

 ** _'_** ** _I can't just stand by and watch as you disappear right in front my eyes…'_**

 _His heart thumped heavily against his chest, as his slightly trembling lips tightened into a thin line._

 _He was gonna bring the Lucy they all once deeply loved and cared for…_

 ** _'_** ** _I swear with every breath of my life.. that I will bring you back, no matter what..'_**

 _Onyx eyes glinted with determination._

 ** _'_** ** _I promise you… Lucy..'_**

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Lowering his head, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

If only he could gather the courage to at least say 'Hi' to her..

"Ah!", someone snapped their fingers.

Broken out of his thoughts, his ears sharpened to hear in on the girls.

"I remember overhearing one of the girls in the library that, she went to the same school as you in America, because she kept on saying how she knew you and that you were dating or engaged to some.. blonde guy.. there?"

This caught his attention as onyx eyes flew open to see Lisanna wiggling her eyebrows at the blonde who was warily leaning away from her.

A slight blush coated the blonde's cheeks.

Natsu clenched his jaw, as he felt his stomach tying into painful knots.

"Oooo… Care to share the dirt, Lucy?", Cana smirked.

Erza and Levy looked at the blonde in concern. Although they knew she hasn't told them everything, after their encounter, they understood the pain she went through and had decided to wait until she was ready to open up to them. They knew well enough to know that anything regarding those seven years was a touchy subject to her.

Erza leaned forward, her hand reaching out to touch the white-haired girl's shoulder, "Lis-", but cut herself off on seeing the blonde lightly shaking her head at her with a reassuring smile before looking back at Lisanna.

"Well, what you heard is true… It was back in middle school if I remember correctly..", her face scrunched up as Lucy tilted her chin up in thought.

Natsu felt his heart drop into his stomach, dread beginning to fill him.

"EH?! Are you stil-"

"Hey you guys! Mind helping us over here?"

Everyone looked down the hill to see Mira waving them over. Behind her, Elfman was already carrying over the barbecue grill set before going off to bring out other utensils from his truck, while Laxus and Gray were bringing out the charcoal bag and the steak packs.

"Aww…", Lisanna pouted.

"Come on girls! Up! Up!", Erza was already in leader mode.

"Yes Ma'am!"

One by one the girls scurried down the slope as Natsu watched the blonde slowly get off the ground to follow them.

His eyes narrowed a little.

Was it him, or was it relief he saw on her face?

"Hey idiot! Mira meant _everyone_! And that includes _you,_ ya _sick_ Salamander!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Iron face, I'm coming!"

* * *

 **-8 Island-**

A chime sounded.

"Orders up!"

A tuft of pink hair made way towards the source.

A toned muscular arm slid in through the rectangular opening of the counter of the otherwise closed kitchen.

Sizzling sounds and plonks of spatulas and others utensils against woks and pans sounded out from the opening, as the hand picked up the dishes of French fries and a huge burger and slid them onto the serving tray held in the other hand.

After moving away from the kitchen counter, tan fingers slowly wiggled towards the French fries, only to be slapped away.

"Natsu Dragneel! I thought you knew better than to eat from the food for the customers!"

The said person snapped his head to the side with wide eyes to see Lisanna, donned in an orange maid attire, scowling at him, with one hand on her hip and the other supporting a tray.

Natsu scoffed, waving her off as he passed her, "Puhlease.. It's not like I am doing this for the first time.."

"Ohohoo.. You think you can get away with it, eh?", Lisanna smirked, before looking sideways at the wide-eyed pink-haired teen behind her, propping her chin in between her thumb and forefinger, as if pretending to think, "I wonder what Lucy's got to say to this..?"

Instantly, a cold shiver ran up her spine.

Red eyes gleamed from within the shadow of the pink bangs behind her, a cold eerie voice sounding, "Hmm? Did you say something.. _Li-sa-nna_?"

"N-No! None at all!"

"Thought so..", Natsu smirked as he turned around to make his way to serve the food, before making his way back.

"I still don't get why you haven't spoken to her yet..", Lisanna sighed.

That stopped Natsu in his tracks, his heart thumping against his chest, a little loudly.

Ever since that trick, Lisanna pulled on him at the cafeteria, he knew the girl was watching him closely, trying to get him to talk to the blonde.

"Lisan-"

"You don't think I don't know why you took this job? The others might have not figured it out, but I know you well enough, Natsu.. Instead of silently watching her from afar and trying to protect her, why don't try talking to her and make it easier for the both of you. It just pains me to see you like this… you are hurting inside… _She_ is hurting…"

Onyx eyes widened as he twirled around to face her, "What do you me-"

"Welcome to 8island! I will be your waitress for the evening. May I have your orders?"

Both of them snapped their heads towards the source.

A darker shade of pink coated his cheeks as wide onyx eyes stared at the sight.

Black buckled shoes paired up with white socks that complimented her slender legs, before the orange skirt started just above her knees.

A white apron was tied over the orange attire while the off shoulder neck showed off her milky white skin.

And not to mention, her amplified cleavage.

His blush deepened, as his ears turned red.

Her well-defined collar bones accentuated the locket that hung from the thin chain around her slender neck.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed thickly.

Second week into their work, and he _still_ hasn't been able to get used to this sight.

And those twin pigtails and that cute white bonnet on her head that contrasted her blonde hair.

Man! She looked so cute as well as powerfully alluring all at the same time.

His lips slightly parted.

That smile she gave to the customers..

He wished she would show him a different one when he summons his courage to talk to her, like he used to, 7 years ago.

His eyes drooped low, while his lips tugged up into a blissful smile.

A smile meant only for him..

A snicker broke him out of his trance.

"You are _soooo_ in love with her."

Natsu growled, "Don't you have a table to wait on?"

"Fine, fine. I'm going..", the pixie-cut girl turned to walk away before pausing, "But Natsu.."

He looked at her questioningly, "If you don't get to her soon, someone else will.."

He sighed in frustration, "I kn-"

"Hey, this uniform isn't bad. I think I might wear it every day..."

Again both of them snapped their heads towards the new voice, before their jaws dropped to the floor.

There stood Gray next to Lucy, clad only in black boxers wearing a red bowtie and his ever-present silver cross locket.

Levy who had reached the duo, deadpanned, "Then try wearing one."

Cana's head popped up from behind him "Gray, your clothes."

"Hmm?", the teen looked down only to drop his tray at the sight of his half-naked self.

Lucy sighed, "First day into work and you're already on the verge of flashing around your sweet willy.."

Cana snickered.

Lucy shared a silent chuckle with her, before Gray appeared beside them again, "Hey, check it out..", he nodded into another direction.

Everyone's eyes trailed over to where he was pointing at.

Swaying her hips, with the skirt reaching just above mid-thigh and thigh high socks accentuating her attire, Erza strutted towards a table, her scarlet ponytail swishing behind her as she walked.

Propping her knee on the table, the red head leaned forward, resting a hand on the surface, as she smiled sensually at the newly arrived male customers, a low voice emanating from her.

"May I have your order..? What do want? Come on, tell me.."

Everyone, except for a smirking Cana, watched wide-eyed with jaws dropped and blush coating their cheeks as the customers' nose flared open, with red coating their own cheeks.

The temperature inside the cafe felt hot.. sweltering hot, that even the _air_ was boiling…

"E-Ehm.."

"I-I want…"

The red-head pressed on, "Yes..?"

The customers threw their hands up in the air and yelled out, "Give us all the dishes you have!"

The red-head smiled gratefully, "Oh, that's a big help. I have to offer my gratitude."

The customers squealed, "The pleasure is ours!"

Natsu swore he could see smoke billowing out of their ears.

Gray sweat-dropped, "Some people are.. really getting into this.."

Natsu watched a small smile crawl onto the blonde's lips, "I guess, I will also have to do my best."

Erza must have heard the duo for she turned to look at them, "This is yet another battle."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion, "Battle?"

"Here are your orders, Masters!"

Natsu and the others turned towards the sweet voice to see Lisanna's older sister smiling brightly at the another group of male customers seated at another table, as she placed their food in front of them.

"Now..", her sweet smile turned into a smirk as Mira pulled out a steel ruler and smacked it against her open palm, "Who wants to go first…?"

All of them jumped up with their hands in the air, "MEEE!"

Everyone shuddered at the demon Mira.

Lucy shivered a little, "C-Count me out of the b-battle.."

As soon as he heard those words from her, Natsu's mind wandered off..

.

.

 _A blonde clad in an off-shoulder black and white maid outfit that hugged her body at all the right places, reaching only up to her mid-thighs, with thigh high black socks paired up with knee-length black combat boots._

 _Her hair fell perfectly on her creamy shoulders, with only a white bonnet to keep them back, while her golden bangs framed her face perfectly._

 _Dazed onyx eyes drooped._

 _Black suited her flawless skin perfectly._

 _Temperature was sweltering hot now.._

 _Brown eyes gazed at him with a glint of mischievousness in them_

 _A smirk adorned her face, as she winked while cracking a whip in her hand._

 _"_ _Time for punishment, Master.."_

 _._

 _._

The scene faded off into another one…

.

.

 _This time, the blonde was wearing a similar off-shoulder black and white maid attire._

 _Instead of thigh-high socks, she donned a pair of black pantyhose, highlighting her alluring charm._

 _Glazed doe brown eyes stared up at him, while her pink supple lips parted._

 _His own lips parted unconsciously as he gulped down hard._

 _Pink tinted her cheeks as she turned her back to him._

 _Leaning away from him, the blonde looked back at him with the same flustered expression, her ass barely covered by the ruffles of her black skirt._

 _"_ _Do you wish to punish me, Master..?"_

.

.

A dropped of sweat trickled down his forehead as his imagination faded away, the words still ringing in ears.

He squeezed his eyes shut, _'NO! NO NOOO!'_

Smoke came out of his ears, as his face turned a dark shade of red.

No… darker than red.

He vigorously shook his head.

' ** _I WONT LET ANYONE LAY A FINGER ON HER! NEVER EVER EVEAHH_** _-'_

"Oof!"

Natsu's hands shot up to massage the sore spot on his ribs, where Lisanna had jagged her elbow into, as he glared at her.

Lisanna's eyes were closed as her brow twitched, an annoyed expression on her face, "Keep those perverted vibes from spreading, will ya?!"

"Wha-"

"Which one of you boys ordered 'Sweet Punishment'.."

Everyone turned towards the sultry voice, and their eyes widened when they landed on Evergreen wearing the maid attire, her hair put up into a beautiful bun, the tips protruding out into a side ponytail while her brown bangs beautifully framed her face

One hand was planted on her hip while the other upheld a tray lined with tall glasses filled with colorful drinks.

One hand jerked up, the owner's face red while smoke streaked out of his ears, "I DID! I DIIID!"

"NO I DID!", the one next to him cut him off, glaring at him, unconscious of the blood that trickled out of his own nose..

" _NO! I_ DID!", the one on the other side head-butted the other two.

Pretty soon, the three of them were brawling.

Everyone watched as Lucy sweat-dropped, "Is it me, or have we been receiving only male customers…"

Cana pouted, "Aww.. if only those three didn't fight.."

Lucy sweat-dropped, "I don't even want to know the service that comes along with it.."

Evergreen smirked at the red-head who was watching her, "Well, well, well, Erza.. The winner of this battle is obvious. Don't you think?"

Mira stepped in, a sinister smile on her lips with her arms crossed, "Don't get your hopes up Evergreen. We have a good 3 hours till our shift ends."

"Oi! Quit yapping around and bring us our food."

Lucy jumped out of her skin before twirling around to see a grumpy Laxus seated at another table accompanied by poker-faced Freed and a grinning Bickslow with his tongue hanging out.

"I still wonder where you get the money to come in here every day..", Lucy crossed her arms as she squinted at her older cousin-slash-brother-figure who only raised a brow at her, before walking away with a sigh.

Laxus jumped in his seat, startled on seeing his sister ignoring him and walking away, "Hey! I mean it, Lucy! We didn't get our food!"

Natsu chuckled silently as he watched the blonde.

He remembered how the blonde had been desperately searching for a job in order to pay off the rent of her apartment located in Strawberry Street, which thankfully for him, was not too far away from his house.

To his and everyone's shock, the principal of their school, Makarov Dreyar happened to be her grandfather, but that deserved a slap to their face for forgetting that he was already Laxus's grandfather. He and Laxus had both offered to help her financially, but she was too stubborn saying that she wanted to know what it meant to be independent.

Luckily, Master Makarov- as they call him- got to know of a new joint opening at Hargeon, which was a 1 hour train ride from Magnolia, and had right away informed Lucy.

She got the job promptly, since the owner of the joint happened to be a friend of Master's, Mr. Yajima.

When she had first informed the group of her job, they were against it because of the work hours which can go up to late at night, to which Lucy had flexed her frail arms saying that she was capable of kicking ass if needed, with her trademark 'Lucy kick'. It took a whole week before the group half-heartedly agreed to her whines.

But Natsu still didn't feel like letting it go easily. And for the first time, he was thankful that he still hadn't established communication with the blonde then, taking up a job at the restaurant with the help of Master.

Lucy also never questioned him, throwing occasional glances in his direction every now and then, helping him with juggling tables when needed and he was happier that he can now make up reasons to talk to her. At least the awkwardness between them had lessened.

He always got the chance to ride the train with her, both ways-wherein he was able to enjoy the time, thanks to the miracle known as Troia motion sickness patches-, going to work with her after school, walking her home after work, even secretly volunteering to stay till closing time whenever Lucy was asked to. He never minded the silence between them, as long as he got to spend time with her.

But those happy times did not last very long.

Two weeks after, they were scared out of their wits by Erza, Evergreen, Levy, Lisanna and Mira, all clad in maid outfits, saying that they always wanted to know what it was like to work as a maid. Along came Cana, the day after.

True to the blonde's week long silent suspicions, Laxus and the gang were ratted out one evening, when they foolishly opted a window seat, causing a strong breeze to blow off Laxus's wig onto a nearby customer's plate, thereby creating a ruckus. Lucy had demanded Laxus to stop following her, to which he replied that he had come to love the food of the café and has made it his… 'thing' to hang out here.

But Natsu knew very well that the blonde was more worried about his sister than greedy over some café food.

And that left Stripper, who wanted to know what his friends were all fussing over and hence joining the squad today.

Now, the blonde had to manage all of them, since she wanted to keep her job.

Squeals erupted from behind him, snapping the pink-haired teen out of his trance.

Turning around, his eyes landed on a group of shrieking girls with hearts in their eyes, seated at a table in the back, ogling at the half-naked raven-haired waiter who was about to unconsciously take off his boxers.

Guess there were female customers after all…

"Take those boxers off, and I will personally make sure, you won't have a pee-pee to **_pee_** with!"

Natsu shuddered at Lucy's venomous hiss, while a shrieking Gray ran around to find his discarded uniform.

A sigh escaped his lips.

Lucy sure can be scary sometimes.

"Gajeel, you're doing it again.."

Oh yeah. Then there was Metal Head. Guess he joined the work force, since he literally followed Levy around like a _pathetic_ lost puppy! Although, the red-eyed teen would _never_ in a million years, admit to it.

Natsu snapped his head towards the said person who had a spoon hanging from his mouth, a scowl present on his face.

"Can't help it shrimp. I eat 'em when I get irritated."

Levy crossed her arms as she raised a brow at him, "And what exactly is that.?"

Gajeel tugged on his red bowtie as he grunted, "Couldn't the old geezer have chosen more comfy clothes? This suit is…it's...GAH!"

He grabbed a spoon from the nearby customer's table and started to chew on it, startling the poor customer who gaped at him in fear.

Levy scoffed, "I don't see what the fuss is all about? Even Gray likes it."

"Provided, he wears one _all_ the time!"

Natsu looked down at his uniform as he adjusted his scarf with his free hand.

He gotta admit, the waiter's uniform was quite cool. And he was glad that Yajima-san allowed him to wear his scarf. It got well along with the black vest and white shirt, which was paired up with a pair of black pants. Overall, he looked handsome.

He smirked at the thought, before his lips turned upside down.

If only he knew what Lucy thought.

"What can I get you ladies? A 'Strawberry Fantasy' or… 'A Chocolate Kiss'.."

A silent groan escaped him.

Oh.. _how_ could he have _possibly_ forgotten the Playboy.

He tilted his head a little to the side to see Loke with his hand cupping a female customer's chin as she gazed up at him with a blush, "Oh, Loke-sama.."

"Loke, I would suggest for you to _not_ flirt with our customers..", a ticked off Lucy appeared beside the orange-haired teen.

"Lucy!"

In an instant, the teen's arm was around her waist, "You're so beautiful that I'm forced to look at you through these sunglasses.", he adjusted his shades by its rim.

A tick mark appeared on the pink-haired teen's forehead, a low growl escaping him.

Loke leaned forward, his voice getting softer, "If I take them off, I'll be blind for sure.."

"Then just take them off", Lucy scowled, her brow twitching as she clenched her fists at her sides.

"Aww…", he brought her closer causing Natsu to ready his fist, "Don't say that Princess. I'm sur-"

A tray smacked the backside of Loke's head emitting a painful metallic sound.

" _Oi_! _Quit flirting with my sister_ and go get me more fries!"

Natsu snickered as he watched Laxus scowl from his table at the orange-haired teen on the floor, while cracking his knuckles.

Loke's face scrunched up in pain as he looked up at Laxus, a smirk tugging on his lips nonetheless, "No wonder Mira doesn't notice you with that cocky attitude of yours."

That was it.

Loke got pulled up by his collar as Laxus snarled in his face while kneeling on the floor, " _One_. _More_. _Wor_ -"

"Woah!"

Natsu's eyes widened as an unsuspecting Gray tripped over the duo who was in his way, causing his plate to smack into a nearby Gajeel's face, before landing face first into the ground with half his body over the still hunched over duo.

"Ya _damn_ stripper. You tryin' to pick a fight with me?!", Gajeel rushed over to kick Gray who smirked and rolled over just in time, causing the kick to land in Laxus's gut.

"You looking for a fight, punk?!", Laxus snarled as he got up and cracked his knuckles.

Gajeel readied his fists as he smirked, "Gihi! Bring it on!"

"Oi! Gajeel! We are in a friggin' restaurant!", Gray got up but his head ended up knocking off a strawberry cake off the plate held up by a giddily smiling Erza who was in the midst of enjoying her treat, as she sat on the counter.

"M-My s-strawberry…c-cake.."

As an unknowing Gray went off to hold back Gajeel, a trembling teary-eyed Erza gazed down at her destroyed treat on the floor before letting out a weak cry when a large geta sandal clad foot squashed it.

"FIGHTING IS MAN!"

Oh, and let's not forget Elfman.

"SHUT THE FUCK _UP_!", Erza's foot implanted in his face, and away he went.

Out of nowhere, a cup hit his head causing the pink-haired teen to snap his head around with a growl, "Who the hell…"

He trailed off when his eyes landed on Gray in all his half naked glory again, standing on the counter top with hands planted on his hips, while watching the fighting trio of Laxus, Gajeel and Loke, with a disappointed look on his face.

All thoughts of finding the culprit who had smacked him with the cup forgotten, a wicked toothy-grin spread across his face, as Natsu aimed the empty tray in his hand for Gray's head.

A metallic smack sounded and Gray fell off the counter with a loud yelp.

Natsu cackled out loud only to be cut off when an ice pack hit him square in the face.

Before he knew it, an all-out brawl had broken out. Even some of the customers had joined in while some of them sought safety under their tables.

Taking a momentary breather-not that Natsu ever needed one- so as to see whether the blonde was safe or not, his eyes landed on a quivering blonde head under a table far away from the brawl, along with a white-head and a blue-head.

Onyx eyes widened in worry, before lightening up when his sensitive ears picked up the familiar peals of suppressed giggles amidst the noise… that pleasant sound, his ears had missed so much…

He felt his face immediately warm up.

His eyes never left the blonde who was giggling at the scene along with a disappointed Levy and a chortling Lisanna, as she sipped on her favorite strawberry shake which she got just in time when the show started.

Come to think of it..

He turned to look back at the large commotion.

A sigh escaped him as his lips tugged up into a small smile.

It all clicked now…

 _This_ was what's been missing from the scene after all.

The loudness, the liveliness…

It was like, the blonde had taken the spirit of her family along with her when she left them..

And now that she is back…

It's all how it should be..

Natsu grinned a wide toothy grin.

And there is _nothing_ he would change about this scene…

He turned back around, his onyx eyes glazing over as they landed on the blonde's smiling face.

His smile turned soft.

Even though that smile didn't hold the same shine, he was hell of a lot determined to bring it back.

A determined smile spread across his face.

 _'_ _Just wait for me, Lucy…'_

 _'…_ _.I'm coming for you.'_

* * *

 **I hope I did well in this chapter.**

 **Tell me what you think.**

 **Sorry for any errors.**

 **Thank you for your time.**

 **Arigatou!**


	3. AN(Sorry for being a mood-killer)

**Happy New year you guys.**

 **I am sorry for the long absence. Things happened in life and I am trying my best to keep up.**

 **But don't worry. I am not gonna abandon them. In fact, I am gonna start writing them this week onward, starting with 'Keep me, Keep you..', the oncoming chapters of which have already been drafted out.**

 **I am also thinking of changing my username. So hopefully the next time we meet, will be me under a new pen name.**

 **Anyways, keep your eyes peeled open for my update this month.**

 **One more thing before I go, do you guys want another Author note, just to notify you guys about my new pen name?**

 **And don't worry. This Author's Note will be taken down as soon as the new chappy comes!**

 **Till then, keep smiling!**

 **Happy New Year again!**


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